Fort Lauderdale (; also spelled Ft. Lauderdale) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, 25 miles (40 km) north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 as of the 2020 Census making it the tenth largest city in Florida. Fort Lauderdale is the second largest and one of three principal cities comprising the Miami metropolitan area with a population of 6,166,488.
Built in 1838 and first incorporated in 1911, Fort Lauderdale is named after a series of forts built by the United States during the Second Seminole War. The forts took their name from Major William Lauderdale (1782–1838), younger brother of Lieutenant Colonel James Lauderdale. Development of the city did not begin until 50 years after the forts were abandoned at the end of the conflict. Three forts named "Fort Lauderdale" were constructed including the first at the fork of the New River, the second at Tarpon Bend on the New River between the present-day Colee Hammock and Rio Vista neighborhoods, and the third near the site of the Bahia Mar Marina.
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