One of the most colorful characters in Fort Myers history was William H. "Bill" Towles(September 28, 1852 – June 25, 1921). It was he who gave Fort Myers its present courthouse, standing guard with a shotgun to ward off opponents while workmen labored all night to tear down the old courthouse before a court order could be obtained to stop the move. Bill Towles was a cattle operator on a large scale who made a fortune shipping beef to Cuba.[2]
Born in 1852 at Perry, Florida, he got into the cattle business while a young man, moved his cattle to Fort Myers ranges in 1884 and went into business with James E. Hendry Sr. Towles led the fight in establishing Lee County, Florida and for many years served as county commissioner, and it was as chairman of the board that he forced the building of the new courthouse. He also served for several years as a member of the town council.
Towles died in 1921 and was survived by three children, Mrs. Corrine T. Summerlin, Wallace and Mildred.[3][4]
william, towles, house, historic, house, 2050, mcgregor, boulevard, fort, myers, florida, 2008, added, national, register, historic, places, national, register, historic, placesshow, floridashow, united, stateslocation2050, mcgregor, blvd, fort, myers, florida. The William H Towles House is a historic house at 2050 McGregor Boulevard in Fort Myers Florida On May 29 2008 it was added to the US National Register of Historic Places 1 William H Towles HouseU S National Register of Historic PlacesShow map of FloridaShow map of the United StatesLocation2050 McGregor Blvd Fort Myers FloridaCoordinates26 38 22 N 81 52 27 6 W 26 63944 N 81 874333 W 26 63944 81 874333Built1885Architectural styleColonial RevivalNRHP reference No 08000463 1 Added to NRHPMay 29 2008 1 William H Towles editOne of the most colorful characters in Fort Myers history was William H Bill Towles September 28 1852 June 25 1921 It was he who gave Fort Myers its present courthouse standing guard with a shotgun to ward off opponents while workmen labored all night to tear down the old courthouse before a court order could be obtained to stop the move Bill Towles was a cattle operator on a large scale who made a fortune shipping beef to Cuba 2 Born in 1852 at Perry Florida he got into the cattle business while a young man moved his cattle to Fort Myers ranges in 1884 and went into business with James E Hendry Sr Towles led the fight in establishing Lee County Florida and for many years served as county commissioner and it was as chairman of the board that he forced the building of the new courthouse He also served for several years as a member of the town council Towles died in 1921 and was survived by three children Mrs Corrine T Summerlin Wallace and Mildred 3 4 References edit a b c National Register Information System National Register of Historic Places National Park Service July 9 2010 100 year history of Lee County Courthouse The News Press The near death of the legendary William Towles September 1 2010 Florida Weekly William H Towles 1852 1921 Find A Grave Memorial www findagrave com nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to William H Towles House nbsp This article about a property in Lee County Florida on the National Register of Historic Places is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title William H Towles House amp oldid 1090395972, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
