They threw her a big parade on Sunday.
Hundreds lined the parade route, which meandered through Edison Park on a bright blue April afternoon.
"Thomas Edison" was there — in a gleaming yellow Model T.
Behind him followed the Edison Park Elementary Drum Corps and the Fort Myers High School Green Wave Marching Band.
The Edison Park Elementary School violinists gave a charming recital.
Several dignitaries made speeches.
The occasion?
It was the 100th anniversary of the original dedication of Edison Park and the Greek goddess who greets residents as they return home from work, running errands or time out of town.
She’s known affectionately as "Rachel at the Well."
In the aftermath of Hurricane Ian three and a half years ago, many in Edison Park feared she couldn’t be put back together after the bougainvillea-entwined wrought iron fence that had stood behind her — without incident, for 96 years — landed on her head, breaking her neck and her back.
Fortunately, an art conservation team out of Tennessee and Miami was able to restore it. That done, contractors rebuilt the columns and fencing that surround the goddess of life-giving freshwater whose Greek name is Tethys, daughter of Uranus and Gaia.
Mayor Kevin Anderson captured the emotions everyone was feeling.
“More than a ceremony, it feels like a homecoming. We stand here to rededicate 'Rachel at the Well,' known officially as 'The Spirit of Fort Myers.' But to many of us, Rachel is something far more personal. She's a familiar face. She's a quiet presence, a symbol we have passed a hundred times, sometimes without even realizing how much she means to us.”
Kim Gaide has lived in Edison Park for 37 years. She’s always mindful of Rachel’s presence and the sense of community the statue inspires in her and in her neighbors.
“I always say good morning or good night to her as I’m driving through,” said Gaide. “She is always looking down on us. [Edison Park] is just the best neighborhood. We know everybody. A lot of our neighbors are here today, and I know they feel the same way that I do.”
During the invocation, attendees received a reminder of the biblical passages that mention "Rachel at the Well." But truth be told, Rachel was a nickname that the city gave the statue because of her proximity to the Thomas A. Edison Congregational Church.
The name stuck and people assumed the sculptor, Helmuth von Zengen, or Snell Brothers’ project manager James D. Newton, had given her that moniker.
Years passed.
The statue fell into disrepair.
The City’s Beautification Advisory Board intervened, hiring the sculptor of Fort Myers, Don “D.J.” Wilkins, to remove corroded cast iron plumbing and get the fountain running again.
Newton attended the sculpture’s re-dedication on Dec. 6, 1983. He shocked the crowd when he told them that the sculpture’s true title is "The Spirit of Fort Myers.”
Since that event, the sculpture has come to symbolize Fort Myers’ unshakable spirit – that dogged resolve, resilience and pluck the town's people display in the face of natural and financial disasters.
“As water flows once again from her hands, it feels symbolic,” added Mayor Anderson. “Not just of life, but of renewal, of continuity, of the idea that even after hardship, something meaningful can return — stronger, and perhaps even more cherished than before. Maybe that's why she matters so much, because in her, we see ourselves. We see resilience, we see grace under pressure, we see the quiet strength it takes to endure and to begin again.”
Yes, Rachel is the sculpture that symbolizes the heart, the mindset and the spirit of this town.
So, happy 100th Rachel and Edison Park.
MORE INFORMATION:
"The Spirit of Fort Myers," known popularly as "Rachel at the Well," stands at the entrance to Edison Park at McGregor Boulevard and Llewellyn Street. April 8 marked the 100th anniversary of the sculpture’s dedication.
The Edison Park Neighborhood Association celebrated the occasion on Sunday, April 12 with a parade that featured the Edison Park School Drum Group and the Fort Myers High School Green Wave Marching Band, a recital by the Edison Park School violinists and a re-dedication and toast by Mayor Kevin Anderson.
The parade began at 4 p.m. at the Larchmont Road entrance to Edison Park.
In addition to the parade, recital and toast, the event included vintage calliope tunes provided by the Edison Ford Winter Estates, hot dogs by J Dubs Chi-Town Dawgs, Edison Park History story boards by Cheri O’Mailia, a celebration cake and children’s activities.
Edison Park was platted by the Snell Brothers of Sarasota. James D. Newton was the project manager and superintendent for the project. Newton would later author "Uncommon Friends," a book that chronicles the special bonds of friendship shared by inventors Thomas Edison, Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone. However, at the time the 20-year-old Newton began developing his subdivision, he had yet to meet Fort Myers’ three famous winter residents.
Though young, Newton was nevertheless an astute businessman and knew he needed to create a spectacular entryway for the neighborhood he was developing. So, he hired a German immigrant, Helmuth (Helmut) von Zengen, to make a sculpture for the spired and arched entrance he was planning to place across Llewellyn Drive.
Von Zengen patterned his commission after the famous gate in Chestnut Hill, an affluent Philadelphia suburb.
Von Zengen originally designed the sculpture as a nude. However, he was persuaded to cover the maiden with a shift as a concession to Mina Edison and a group of women she represented.
Mina Edison was so appreciative that she and Thomas Edison attended the dedication, which drew a crowd of approximately 500 people.
According to local historian Gerri Reaves, the event was filmed by Pathe’ News, “as was common with events following the great inventor.”
Newton ultimately donated the sculpture to the city of Fort Myers.
Years later, it fell into disrepair as it was coated with layer upon layer of green paint to honor the Fort Myers High School Green Wave.
The 54 alternating layers of green and white paint were stripped off in 1983 when the Fort Myers Beautification Advisory Board hired local sculptor D.J. Wilkins to restore and turn the sculpture back into a fountain. Incident to the restoration, Wilkins also designed and installed special lighting to illuminate the sculpture after dark, and replaced much of the old, rusted cast iron water pipes running through the sculpture with more modern PVC.
The sculpture was nearly destroyed during Hurricane Ian. Over the years, bougainvillea had entwined its branches around the wrought iron fence behind the statue. When the bougainvillea caught Ian’s 100-mile-per-hour winds, it toppled the fence, which landed on the maiden and broke her neck and back. But both the sculpture and her surround were repaired and reinforced to better protect both from damage during future tropical events.
For more on the saga of the sculpture’s damage and restoration, read:
- City preparing to install new fence at Rachel at the Well (9-22-25);
- Rachel at the Well remains in fine form, even if her 'surround' is not (2-28-25); and
- 'Soon, not too much longer' for completion of Fort Myers' iconic Rachel at the Well statue (4-25-24).
In his speech, Mayor Anderson referenced the damage the statue sustained during Hurricane Ian.
“When she was damaged, it felt like a piece of our community had been shaken, because landmarks like this aren't just objects, they hold our memories, they become part of our identity,” he said. “What makes today so powerful is not just that she's been restored, it's that our community chose to restore her. We chose not to let history fade. We chose not to let something beautiful be lost. We chose to bring her back. And in doing that, we told a story about who we are. We are a community that rebuilds. We are a community that remembers. And we are a community that values beauty, history, and connection.”
Mayor Anderson then added:
“So today isn't just about looking back. It's about standing together in the present and choosing what we carry forward. As we rededicate at Rachel, may we also rededicate ourselves to caring for this place we call home, to honoring what came before us, and to preserving the spirit that makes this community what it is. Because in the end, 'The Spirit of Fort Myers' is more than a statue. She is a reminder that even after the storm, we are still here, and we are still strong.”
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.
Sponsored in part by the State of Florida through the Division of Arts and Culture.
