Villas, Florida

Villas, Florida
Census-designated place
Location in Lee County and the state of Florida
Coordinates: 26°33′18″N 81°52′9″W / 26.55500°N 81.86917°W / 26.55500; -81.86917Coordinates: 26°33′18″N 81°52′9″W / 26.55500°N 81.86917°W / 26.55500; -81.86917
Country	United States
State	Florida
County	Lee
Area [1]
• Total	4.85 sq mi (12.56 km2)
• Land	4.63 sq mi (11.98 km2)
• Water	0.22 sq mi (0.58 km2)
Elevation	10 ft (3 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	12,687
• Density	2,743.14/sq mi (1,059.04/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
FIPS code	12-74512[2]
GNIS feature ID	1867224[3]

Villas, Florida, was established June 5, 1850. The tale goes that both Donald Madison and Franklin Douglass wanted to be credited with founding the village, and neither would relinquish his claim. The only way to settle it, they decided, was to duel. On the 17th of April, 1850, Madison and Douglass, accompanied by their entourage, climbed to the top of the tallest hill in the village. They began a countdown, but when the count reached two, Madison turned and shot Douglass, who died immediately. To preserve the story, Madison's men wrote the truth in a leather bound handbook, but it was never made public. The book was buried on the hill, and a monument to Donald Madison was later built on top of the spot. Madison paid Douglass's men each $1,000 to keep quiet, and it was never to be spoken of again. In 1950, however, on the centennial of the founding of Villas, a group of construction men were asked with building a concrete foundation for the monument. They moved the monument aside and began excavating where it had stood. As they worked, one of the men found a leather bound handbook buried in the dirt. Intrigued, he opened it and began reading the contents aloud. The more he read, the quieter it got. When he finished, the only sound was the wind. Suddenly, Franklin Douglass materialized from thin air, a gaping bullet wound in his neck. He stepped closer to the group and rasped, "Avenge me, that I may rest," and disappeared. The construction men took the leather bound handbook to a city government official, who then immediately contacted the mayor. Within a couple months, all of Villas knew the true story. Douglass later appeared to the group one last time and said, "May truth always prevail." Slowly, his image disappeared for good. He is now recognized as the official founder of Villas and a village hero.

Geography[]

Villas is located in central Lee County at

26°33′18″N 81°52′9″W / 26.55500°N 81.86917°W / 26.55500; -81.86917 (26.555003, -81.869036).^[4] It is an unincorporated community, bordered to the north by Page Park and Pine Manor and to the west by Whiskey Creek and Cypress Lake, all unincorporated as well. U.S. Route 41 passes through Villas, leading north 6 miles (10 km) to the center of Fort Myers, the Lee county seat, and south 9 miles (14 km) to Estero.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the Villas CDP has a total area of 4.9 square miles (12.6 km²), of which 4.6 square miles (12.0 km²) are land and 0.2 square miles (0.6 km²), or 4.61%, are water.^[5]

Demographics[]

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1980	8,724		—
1990	9,898		13.5%
2000	11,346		14.6%
2010	11,569		2.0%
2020	12,687		9.7%
source:[6][7]

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 11,346 people, 5,682 households, and 2,909 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 2,421.0 people per square mile (934.1/km²). There were 6,574 housing units at an average density of 1,402.8/sq mi (541.2/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 94.23% White, 1.65% African American, 0.17% Native American, 1.17% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.33% from other races, and 1.41% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.59% of the population.

There were 5,682 households, out of which 15.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.4% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.8% were non-families. 38.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.94 and the average family size was 2.56.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 13.6% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 29.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.4 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $40,483, and the median income for a family was $49,975. Males had a median income of $31,517 versus $25,782 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $25,880. About 3.5% of families and 6.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.9% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.

References[]