See where two great American inventors spent time relaxing at their elegant winter homes in this neighborhood in southern Florida.
Named for Thomas Edison, the Edison Park Historic District includes numerous architectural highlights and peaceful gardens. Tour the Edison Winter Estate, including its grand main house, guest house, caretaker’s house, museum, swimming pool complex, laboratory and gardens.
Visit the neighboring Ford Winter Estate, which belonged to another famous inventor, Henry Ford. The two friends left snowy northern winters to enjoy Florida’s warmth and sunshine, Edison arriving in 1885 and Ford in 1916.
Thomas Edison is famous for inventing the light bulb, with other innovations also enabled by the power of electricity. In Florida’s warm climate, he pursued another passion of botany at the Edison Botanic Research Library. This work was often for industrial application, as in the shared project with Ford and Harvey Firestone to create a substitute for foreign rubber. See their lab chemicals, test tubes, beakers and other equipment in place today as they were in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
Botany is visible in the 20-acre (8-hectare) gardens. Admire the tall ficus trees planted by the innovative trio. Stroll among blooming flowers and bushes, including an unusual Moonlight Garden of night-blooming plants. The site has 1,700 plants, including 400 species from all continents except Antarctica.
The Edison Ford Museum showcases the wide variety of inventions from the innovating pair. See Edison’s work in phonographs and kinetoscopes that led to sound and image recordings. The 1916 Model T that Ford gave Edison as a birthday gift is a reminder of the automaker’s influential start.
The two estates neighbor each other on the shore of the Caloosahatchee Riverin Fort Myers. As you stroll through the gardens, imagine how these two geniuses might have taken daily constitutional walks together, discussing ideas for additional developments in science and industry or simply admiring their blooms.
Drive to the Edison Park Historic District from central Fort Myers in 5 minutes, with free parking at the estates. There is an admission fee. While here, visit the Edison Congregational Church, where family members attended religious services.
