Another Walk in the Park: Edison-Ford Winter Estates

In 1979 I coordinated the Century of Light program for Toledo Edison. It commemorated the 100th anniversary of Thomas Edison's incandescent light bulb and the entire electrical system he invented to support it. In the lobby of the Edison building we had a traveling exhibit from the Edison Foundation and the Edison Electric Institute. Employees in the company's Speakers Bureau made hundreds of presentations to school classes, clubs, and service organizations.

One day I received a call from an irate Edison customer (the only kind we had in those days) who said that we could keep electric rates down if we just sold the Edison estate down in Florida. I explained that Toledo Edison did not own the estate, called Seminole Lodge, that had been donated to the City of Fort Myers by Edison's widow Mina in 1947. Later it was combined with the estate of his close friend and next door neighbor Henry Ford. Ford had worked at the Detroit Edison Illuminating Co. in the 1890s and visited Edison at Seminole Lodge in 1914. Ford bought adjoining property in 1916 and constructed his own winter retreat called The Mangoes.

By total coincidence, on Feb. 11, 2015 Shirley and I happened to be at the Corps of Engineers Campground near Fort Myers. Fellow RVers suggested we visit the Edison-Ford Winter Estates. At the ticket window, the cashier said that, if we hurried, we would be just in time for the birthday party. So we hurried.

There were costumed re-enactors representing Thomas and Mina, Henry and Clara. A string band, dancers and a boys choir from the Edison Park Creative and Expressive Arts School performed "Happy Birthday" just as we found our seats. Soon, Shirley was chatting up one of the docents explaining that she is from Norwalk, just a few miles from Edison's birthplace in Milan, OH. So the docent ran off to tell the Public Relations Director that we were visiting big wigs from Milan who had condescended to grace their little celebration. I tried to set the record straight by explaining my role in the Century of Light and my current position as travel editor for Healthy Living News. But sometimes good PR is good PR even if not 100% accurate. Maybe because it not 100% accurate. Still, she arranged a special private tour--for only $20 minus the AAA discount. Our personal guide, by the way, turned out to be Maxine, a 1964 graduate of the University of Toledo--or Toledo University as it was at the time.

Though Edison had a famous workshop and laboratory in Menlo Park, NJ he was not fond of Northern winters. As a habitual, enthusiastic tinkerer-experimenter, Edison had a personal library and laboratory in his "vacation" home. And, of course, it was equipped with all his latest gadgets and inventions. Today, the two estates have been restored to their 1929 condition and furnished with original family belongings. You may notice that both estates are relatively modest considering that Edison and Ford had ample means to indulge much more grandiose fantasies.

The 2015 Thomas Edison with a piece of his 168th birthday cake.

A boys choir and string band from a local school performed.

Seminole Lodge

The 2015 version of Clara and Henry Ford. Someone forgot to tell Clara it was supposed to be a celebration.

Thomas and Mina

As a visiting dignitary, Shirley got an extra large piece of birthday cake.

But did she share? You know she did.

Mina Edison statue in the gardens. Only appropriate to recognize the lady who created a shrine for her husband by donating the estate to the City of Fort Myers.

There is a collection of early Fords on display.

Edison's phonographs.

A long dock was constructed to facilitate the delivery of building materials and household furnishings by boat for the estate.

Edison liked to brag that the best tarpon fishing in the world was right out his front door.

Ford statue in the gardens.

The living room in The Mangoes

Dining room at the Mangoes looks like it could be in any a nice, comfortable middle class home of the era. This ain't the Biltmore Estate in Asheville.