In 1885, Edison first visited the Sunshine State. He purchased property along the river in Fort Myers and built a vacation home.
The structure, completed in 1886 and called Seminole Lodge by the Edisons, served as a winter retreat and work place for the prolific inventor until his death in 1931.
The home, which was designed by Edison, was built in sections in Fairfield, Maine. The sections were then transported to Fort Myers by four sailing schooners.
When you enter Seminole Lodge, you enter a world unlike any you have ever seen. The furnishings and architecture are reminiscent of a bygone era. The inventive genius of Edison is evident throughout the 14-acre estate.
Circling the home are large overhanging porches which, combined with French doors on the first floor, provide a cool breeze through the home at all times. The electric chandeliers, which Edison called “electroliers,” were made of brass in his own workshop.
In the early 1900s, Edison built one of Florida’s first swimming pools with cement from his Edison Portland Cement Company. It still holds water today. Edison used water from an artesian well to fill the pool and irrigate his botanical gardens.
In March 1947, Mrs. Edison donated the estate to the City of Fort Myers and public tours began later that year.
Edison's tropical botanical garden, one of the most complete in America, contains more than a thousand varieties of plants imported from all over the world, including African sausage trees and a Banyan tree, which was a gift from Harvey Firestone in 1925. Originally, this was an experimental garden. Edison was interested in the various products and byproducts of the plants, which he used in many of his scientific investigations. Later Mrs. Edison enhanced the garden with many beautiful plants, including roses, orchids and bromeliads.
The close friendship between Henry Ford and Edison brought Mr. and Mrs. Ford to Fort Myers in 1915 as guests in the Edison's home. The following year, Mr. Ford purchased the house next door to his good friend; and for 15 years, the Fords came to their home in Fort Myers every winter to spend time with the Edisons. They shared their families, local friends and well-known guests, including Firestone and John Burroghs, the naturalist. The Ford home, "Mangoes," was purchased by the City of Fort Myers in 1988 and was opened for public tours in 1990.
Go To Page: 1 2
