Edison & Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers

The Edison Ford Museum in Fort Myers, Florida

The Edison & Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers, Florida, surprised us, as we knew Thomas Alva Edison so far as an inventor who spent his life mainly dealing with electricity and electrical engineering. Henry Ford was known to us as the founder of the Ford Motor Company. As such, he revolutionized industrial production with the invention of assembly line technology. We expected to find evidence of her life's work at the Edison Ford Museum in Florida on the Caloosahatchee River.

 

 

 

But far from it: their houses, which the friends had built next to each other, give the impression of a garden paradise. There is a garage in which Ford stored its vehicles. Edison's house is furnished with the furnishings of his time: electric light and lightbulbs make his lamps glow. There's an Edison clock on the fireplace. The first toaster is in the kitchen. In his library there is a phonograph on which shellac records once turned their circles. But there is no evidence of the technical genius of the two.

 

 

 

Edison Ford winter domicile is a garden paradise

Instead, exotic plants from all over the world grow on the property that the two families shared. The reason for this collection of tropical and subtropical plants had to do indirectly with the work areas of the two men. At the beginning of the 20th century they were looking for substitutes for rubber. This should make the USA independent of rubber imports from other regions of the world. Third in this search for substitutes was Harvey Firestone. Their plant-based experimental laboratory can still be viewed today next to the entrance building of the facility.

 

 

 

Edison Ford Museum on the Caloosahatchee River

However, we prefer to enjoy the gardens with their sausage and kapok trees, the eucalyptus and royal palms, the cycads and the banyan tree and see how the industrial barons once lived. Here, too, we experience a surprise. We expected them to live in palaces, much like the Flaglers, the Vanderbilts or the Astors. However, far from it! The Edison and Ford vacation homes were spacious with lots of rooms. The breeze from the Caloosahatchee River brought freshness through the windows and patio doors. Therefore, they had natural cooling even in the summer months. There is no shortage of space. But that was no wonder at the beginning of the 20th century. At that time Florida was still considered a border country, with which one did not really know what to do with it. Land was cheap to get, and no one lacked space.

 

Edison House Florida

The furnishings in the Edison House Florida appear rather modest. It by no means corresponded to the megalomania that is generally attributed to the industrial barons of that time. Two families who were friends had made themselves comfortable here. In an environment where you can feel comfortable. Ford and Edison came here to accomplish a task, not to celebrate. These two buildings and their garden bear witness to this. These two families weren't concerned with representation. Instead, they wanted to achieve a specific goal. This was a Sisyphean task that took years. This is also confirmed by the kitchen gardens on the site: vegetables and herbs were planted as well as fruit trees of all kinds. There are mangoes, oranges, lemons, papayas, star fruits and more. The Edisons and the Fords loved to feed themselves from their garden. This can be clearly seen in the Edison Ford Museum.

 

 

 

 

The Edison Ford Museum, where Henry Ford spent winters

A visit to the Edison & Ford Winter Estate is definitely an opportunity to take a look behind the facade of the inventors and car manufacturers. It shows the unexpected as well as the surprising. For us, the two men lose their aura of genius and become likeable and modest people. However, they pursue their goal with perseverance and work towards it for years. Her life is commemorated in the Edison Ford Museum.

 

Edison & Ford Winter Estates
2350 McGregor Blvd,
Fort Myers, FL 33901,
United States

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Source Edison Ford Museum: On-site research with support from The Beaches of Fort Myers and Sanibel. However, our opinions remain our own.

Text Edison Ford Museum: © Copyright Monika Fuchs and TravelWorldOnline
Photos Edison Ford Museum Florida: © Copyright by Monika Fuchs and TravelWorldOnline