A Look Back

Thomas Alva Edison changed the world.

Among the 1,009 patent inventions of Thomas Edison were the cylinder phonograph, the kinescope, film projector, electricity and the light bulb. The phonograph debuted at The White House before President Rutherford B. Hayes, and the first public demonstration of the Edison’s incandescent lighting system was in December 1879 when Edison’s Menlo Park, New Jersey laboratory complex was electrically lighted.

1886 The Edisons in Fort Myers

By the time Thomas Edison built his beloved retreat on the banks of the Caloosahatchee River in the fledgling frontier town of Fort Myers, he was world famous. The city’s brass band welcomed Mr. Edison and his new bride, Mina Miller to their newly completed home, Seminole Lodge, in 1886. The Edisons would remain winter residents for 45 years.

Spacious and rambling, the Seminole Lodge features large, over-hanging porches and multiple French doors to catch the river’s breezes. Electric chandeliers, designed by Edison and handmade of brass in his workshop, remain and are still in working order. The automotive pioneer Henry Ford bought the property next door in 1916, and for fifteen years the two friends wintered together, experimenting in Edison’s rubber laboratory and research garden, and entertaining well-known guests like industrialist Harvey Firestone and naturalist John Burroughs.

1947 Edison Estate opens to the public

The Edison Estate was deeded to the City of Fort Myers by Mina Edison in 1947 and opened to the public later that year. Through the years, millions of visitors and Florida’s rain and high humidity significantly damaged Seminole Lodge. By 1993 all the buildings on the estates were suffering from major water and termite damage. A brilliant piece of American history was fading away.

1994 Citizen’s group formed

It was clear that something needed to be done and quickly. In 1994, a group of concerned citizens formed the Friends of Edison in Fort Myers to provide a broad base of support for the city-owned and operated Estates. The organization’s name was later changed to Edison-Ford Winter Estates Foundation in 1998. Early projects identified and funded were the restoration of Edison’s piano and the reproduction of the portrait of Mina Edison.

With the building of growing community support, the Foundation took a leadership role in assessing the rapid deterioration of Edison’s homes and gardens and the need for emergency stabilization of its physical structures. To determine the scope of this massive undertaking, a strategic plan was developed to raise funds to restore the Estates to its original grace and historical integrity. The Foundation hired a noted architectural historian and conservator to produce the Historical Structures Report which revealed an alarming degree of structural damage due to climate, insects and extensive public use. A Cultural Landscape Study Report was also produced to assess the condition of the gardens.