Author: Dave Covill
We then proceeded to Lee county, just up the road to the west from there [see Hendry county report]. Lee has roughly 30 square miles bounded by 30+ foot contour, and no 35 foot contour at all. There are spot elevations of 38', 34', 34' 34' and 34' on the highway, and they all seemed to be built up 2-3 feet from the surrounding swampland or dry farmland. To understand Florida, you have to comprehend that there is only a difference of a foot or two between a swamp and a neighboring field. There is a community bordering the road to the north which has been built in recent years and is not on the topo. This community is mostly vacant lots and lanes laid out off of a nice road system, as if some master builder went bankrupt a few years ago. We were able to drive to 5-6 spot elevations of 32', and they mostly seemed valid. There were places where there was manmade mounds dredged up next to ditches/canals, but they wouldn't have been on the topo years ago, so the surrounding land was probably at 32'. I feel that one of these or perhaps the 38' BM by the highway (artificially high by 4-6') may be the HP. I researched all maps at the DPL, and there is a Mound Key located in Estero Bay, with a BM of 31'. It is probably a shell midden like at Marco Island. This would be a candidate if it were a foot or two higher, but probably deserves mention in the book.