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When you visit the winter estates of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford, you enter a world unlike any other!

Stroll back in time through twenty acres of historic gardens., explore a 15,000 square foot museum showcasing the innovative minds of two american icons., enter the fully restored botanical laboratory where thomas edison, henry ford, and harvey firestone worked side by side..

You light up my life!

The Edison and Ford Winter Estates date from 1885, when Thomas Edison first visited Southwest Florida and purchased the property to build a vacation home.

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Visitors to Edison and Ford Winter Estates can stroll through more than 20 acres of botanical gardens, the 15,000-square-foot air-conditioned museum, and the Edison botanic research laboratory. The museum contains several galleries that feature some of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford's most prominent inventions. The site is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Guided tours are available at the ticket...

Guided tours are available at the ticket counter on a first-come, first-served basis. Self-guided tours are also available in English, German, French and Spanish through our mobile app. Guests will learn about Thomas Edison and Henry Ford, while strolling the gardens.

ADMISSION INFORMATION Self-guided tours: Members: Free Adults: $25 Teens (13-19): $20 Children (6-12): $15 Children (5 and under): Free Guided tours: Adults: $30 Teens: $25 Children: $18 Visitors are encouraged to purchase tickets online in advance at edisonford.org .

26.634312, -81.879271

2350 McGregor Blvd. Fort Myers , FL 33901 United States

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This Is My South

A travel guide to the Southern USA

Visiting the Edison & Ford Winter Estates

June 25, 2018 By Caroline Eubanks Leave a Comment

American inventor Thomas Edison bought a plot of land in Fort Myers, Florida in 1885 to build his winter home, a rural area he called Seminole Lodge.

It was here that he grew plants that would play a role in future creations and where he had a laboratory. In 1916, Henry Ford purchased the house next door, called The Mangoes, to be close to his friend. They spent winters together with their families until Edison’s death in 1931.

What to See at the Edison & Ford Winter Estates

The estates’ grounds feature stunning plant life, including banyan trees, bamboo, and palm trees planted by Edison. He grew a number of species that produced rubber in an effort to help America’s reliance on foreign products during the war.

His wife was a botanist and created the midnight rose garden, pictured above. Edison’s estate also had a full swimming pool and a number of outbuildings, including a caretaker’s cottage.

All of the equipment used to build Edison’s home were brought in via ship and carried from the long dock next to their property. The home contains much of the original furniture because Edison’s wife deeded the property to the city of Fort Myers in 1947. You can see the rooms from the glass doors off the veranda.

Ford’s home, however, was sold to another family that lived there for decades, selling the original furniture, before it was turned over to the city in 1988. The two houses opened together as a museum in 1990. Ford’s side of the property contains a number of his famous cars, including early Model Ts. His former caretaker’s cottage is now a gift shop.

The estates are accessible by self-guided and guided tours in multiple languages. The visitor’s center has a museum with information on both of these men and their careers as well as Edison’s lab. The estates also sell plants like the ones Edison and his wife grew. Give yourself at least two hours to explore.

Tips for Visiting the Edison and Ford Winter Estates

Edison and Ford Winter Estates  is located at 2350 McGregor Boulevard,  Fort Myers , Florida 33901. Admission is $25-30 for adults. Parking is free. The museum is open daily from 9 am to 5:30 pm.

Where to Eat Near the Edison and Ford Winter Estates

If you want your fish fix, Pinchers is a waterfront seafood restaurant a few blocks away. Edison’s Lab Restaurant and Bar takes its inspiration from the famous inventor, with breakfast and sandwiches. And not to be left out, Ford’s Garage is a chain restaurant with automotive-themed decor, burgers, and beer.

Where to Stay Near the Edison and Ford Winter Estates

The Hibiscus House Bed and Breakfast is a short walk away, with free daily breakfast, WiFi, and parking. Holiday Inn Fort Myers is convenient to the museum with an outdoor pool and fitness center. Luminary Hotel & Co. is a boutique hotel downtown with stylish rooms and a rooftop bar.

I received complimentary admission to the Edison and Ford Winter Estates.

About Caroline Eubanks

Caroline Eubanks is the editor of this website, a Lowell Thomas award-winning travel writer, and the author of This Is My South: The Essential Travel Guide to the Southern States. Her stories from the South have appeared in National Geographic Traveler, Afar, Thrillist, Roads and Kingdoms, and BBC Travel.

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Edison & Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers

Historic edison & ford.

In 1886, inventor Thomas Edison purchased land along the Caloosahatchee River in Fort Myers and constructed a winter home dubbed Seminole Lodge where he and his wife Mina wintered until the inventor’s death in 1931. Wanting to spend the winters with the Edison’s, their friends Henry Ford and his wife Clara purchased the adjacent property in 1915 and built a bungalow-style house naming it The Mangoes.

Today, the Edison & Ford Winter Estates features over 20 acres of lush botanical gardens boasting over 1,700 plants and one of the largest Banyan trees in the U.S.  Read our blog article  about our visit to Edison & Ford.

Exploring Edison & Ford Winter Estates

Visitors can explore nine historic buildings including Henry Ford’s home and Thomas Edison’s main house, guest house, caretaker’s house, the ahead of its time pool complex and the pier built to deliver materials for construction. There is a wide range of tour options available to experience the Edison & Ford Winter Estates.

Also, unique to the estate is Edison’s Botanic Research Laboratory, which was built for researching a domestic source for organic rubber and is now filled with the actual equipment Edison used to conduct his research. A 15,000 square foot air-conditioned museum displays some of Edison’s inventions, artifacts, and exhibits as well as a Model-T Ford, which was a gift from Henry Ford. Costumed actors portraying the Edison’s, the Ford’s and their friends can be found milling about, giving visitors a glimpse into how these wealthy residents lived during that time period.

Thomas Edison’s Research Laboratory

Go inside Edison’s Laboratory on a 60 minute Inside the Lab Tour to learn about the operation of the historic Edison Botanical Research Laboratory, a National Historic Chemical Landmark, which has undergone an extensive two-year restoration. Inside the Lab Tour is an exciting, in-depth tour that is not combined with any other Edison Ford Estates tour.

The final major research project of Thomas Edison was the search for a domestic source of natural rubber. Visitors can see and experience the new Edison & Rubber: A Scientific Quest exhibit in Edison & Ford Winter Estates newly remodeled museum hall. The exhibit presents the beginnings of Edison’s interest and the importance of natural rubber, as well as the formation of the Edison Botanic Research Corporation, Edison’s successful experiments with plants, and the conclusion of the project after Edison’s death in 1931. The exhibit also includes a rubber floor, the original lab results of how much rubber each tree and plant produced, samples of rubber in various stages of completion, and a video depicting a re-creation of Edison’s rubber experiment.

Smithsonian Spark! Lab Interactive Exhibit

The Smithsonian Spark! Lab is a hands-on, interactive exhibit for families and children. A series of rotating stations with themes from vehicle construction to understanding sound waves will challenge visitors to place themselves in the mindset of an inventor.

The Timeline of Innovation Exhibit at Edison & Ford Winter Estates

The Timeline of Innovation is a chronological exhibit of both Edison’s and Ford’s major innovations. The timeline highlights achievements in dozens of fields and will showcase some of the most interesting artifacts. It will also provide visitors with a narrative on how Edison, Ford, and others built on earlier innovations to create their own inventions.

Kids Scavenger Hunt

Families visiting Edison and Ford Winter Estates can participate in a scavenger hunt and try to find Jerry the Pelican, hidden throughout the site.

Jerry the Pelican who is hidden in multiple places. The goal of the scavenger hunt is to find Jerry in eight different places, including the Edison caretaker’s house, the Moonlight Garden (back side of the study), main house, Thomas and Mina’s master bedroom, guest house, the Ford car exhibit, the secretary’s bedroom in the Ford house, and in the Ford house dining room.

Children will receive a prize when they find all eight hidden pelicans!

Be sure to stop by the Museum Store or Garden Shop and bring home something from your visit.

Purchase tickets in advance online at  Edisonford.org .

Self-guided tours are available and allow visitors to use a free app on their personal phones along with a printed map of the site. Guests will learn about Thomas Edison and Henry Ford, while strolling more than 20 acres in a park-like setting. The gardens offer large shade trees, a scenic river view, and plants and trees from around the world. Audio content may also be accessed by sailing a phone number while on site. Admission tickets for self-guided tours are as follows: adults, $25; teens (13-19), $20; children (6-12), $15; children 5 years old and younger will be admitted free.

Guided tours  are offered regularly throughout the day. Guided tour tickets are available on a first come, first served basis at the ticket counter. Guided tour tickets are $30 for adults, $25 for teens (13-19), and $18 for children (6-12).

Specialty tours , including Inside-the-Homes, Automotive, and Garden tours are also available. These guided tours offer visitors the chance to see and explore behind-the-scene areas with a knowledgeable site historian. Tours are offered in a small-group format. Reservations are required.

The Edison Ford is the winner of the 2009 National Stewardship Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and is an official project of “Save America’s Treasures” at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a Florida Historic Landmark and a National Register Historic Site.

Business Info

• Open Daily from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
• 2350 McGregor Blvd. Fort Myers , FL 33901
• 239.334.7419
• www.EdisonFord.org

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Video: highlights of ford & edison homes in fort myers, fl.

By VISIT FLORIDA staff Not many people know that automotive industry titan Henry Ford once worked for the great inventor Thomas Edison, or that they became good friends — or that they had summer homes next to each other in Fort Myers . Today, the Edison house in Fort Myers and the Ford estate are among the 10 most visited historic homes in the United States. Highlights of Edison and Ford's Fort Myers homes include something for everyone: demonstrations using the equipment in Edison's research lab, behind-the-scenes views of the estate buildings themselves and horticultural tours of the grounds' extensive gardens.

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A Look Inside the Edison and Ford Winter Estates

To escape the brutally cold northern winters, Thomas Edison and Henry Ford had winter homes right next to each other in Fort Myers, Florida. Today this area is known as the Edison and Ford Winter Estates, located on the banks of the Caloosahatchee River. You can view these beautiful historic homes, museum, and laboratory on-site, and to help you with your visit, I’ve put together a short guide that includes visiting tips and what you’ll see.

Perhaps you are like me and just recently learned about these homes. I saw the estates on Samantha Brown’s television series Places to Love . I grew up watching her shows on the Travel Channel, green with envy for her job. So, I was excited to hear she had a new series on PBS. She recently did a short feature on the Edison and Ford Winter Estates down in Fort Myers, and I was captivated by Thomas Edison’s dark green laboratory.

Lucky for us, we made an impromptu side trip down to Fort Myers from Anna Maria Island so that I could see the laboratory for myself. We only got to visit for the afternoon, but we saw most of the property before it started to rain.

Some people don’t like Thomas Edison, and I understand why. Still, I love diving deep into history, especially seeing timeless homes that beckon to me. Plus, I wanted to learn more about the two men who helped contribute to modern-day America.

Table of Contents

Know Before You Go

Address and parking.

The Edison and Ford Winter Estates are at 2350 McGregor Blvd, Fort Myers, Florida 33901 . We plugged this address into our GPS, which took us to the parking lot. Parking is free, and you will see signs indicating where to park. We arrived mid-afternoon and had no trouble finding a parking spot. Find the estates on a map here:

Hours and Tour Information

The museum and historic homes are open daily from 9am to 5:30pm, with the last ticket sold at 4:30pm. You can view the different tour prices here .

We did the guided 60-minute tour, where a historian takes you to the estates and through the gardens. This tour is recommended if you have limited time to visit. The cost is more at $30 per adult, but it gives a good overview of the estates. There are also self-guided tours that cost less than guided tours, but both tours include visiting the museum, laboratory, estates, and gardens.

If you do the self-guided tour ($25 per adult), you can download the Edison Ford App for an audio tour of the estates and gardens. It is convenient and free!

If you want to see rooms in the homes that aren’t generally on the other tours, consider the Inside the Homes Tour. This tour is only offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10am. We missed this tour but still saw certain areas in the homes. They have rooms closed off where you cannot enter them, but you can still view the interiors from the doorways.

Other Visiting Tips

I would plan at least half a day to visit the entire place. We were there for about three hours and still didn’t see everything! However, I read a lot, including all the captions you see under every exhibit or artifact in a museum. If you don’t do this, visiting the Edison and Ford Winter Estates might take less time.

We went in June, and it was so hot and humid. It felt like I was back in Cancun, Mexico – one of the hottest places I’ve been. I try to push through it, but it is hard to concentrate when it is that hot! If we go back, it will be in the cooler winter months. With that said, you may want to avoid late spring, summer, and hurricane season.

What You Will See at the Edison and Ford Winter Estates

The property comprises the museum, Edison’s and Ford’s estates, the gardens, and Thomas Edison’s laboratory. Read below to discover a little bit more about each one.

I love the museum because it has air conditioning! Okay, that is not the only reason, but the A/C is a huge plus.

The museum is packed with TONS of history, along with Thomas Edison’s innovations and Ford’s automobiles. The permanent galleries include:

• Orientation Gallery
• Timeline of Innovation
• Into the Wild
• Music and Movies
• Edison and Rubber
• DC vs. AC (Electrify America)
• Edison’s and Ford’s family and friends

As much as I loved learning about Edison’s inventions, my favorite gallery out of those listed above was Into the Wild . This gallery highlights Edison and Ford’s unique friendship and their lavish excursions into the Florida Everglades.

A Close Friendship

Thomas Edison and Henry Ford had a close friendship, which is probably one of the reasons their homes are right next to each other. I like my friends, of course, but not sure if I would live right next to them (sorry y’all!).

They often went on “camping” trips to Cypress and the Everglades. I put camping in quotes since these were elaborate journeys, not your typical camping trips where you pack a tent, light gear, and a cooler with beer.

No, they were definitely glamping. How so? At one point, they had 80 staff members accompany them, including chefs and secretaries! Astonishingly, they even packed a piano to sing and play music for President Harding, who joined them. Can you imagine going on a camping trip this large into the Florida Everglades? I surely cannot.

Disappointingly, they didn’t allow their wives and children to accompany them initially because they were afraid they would somehow ruin their fun (seriously?) The invitation was later extended to them, and the camping trips became quite a family outing. After nine trips, they called it quits as the trips became too publicized, and Edison started to focus more on his work with rubber in his laboratory.

The photos are fun to look at in this gallery; you can clearly see they had a good time.

Thomas Edison had over 1000 Patents!

Thomas Edison had so many patents, and you will see some of them and other inventions that Thomas Edison produced in the Music and Movies gallery of the museum.

Do you know that Thomas Edison influenced the movie film industry? In fact, the first movie studio was established by Edison in 1893. Called the “Black Maria,” it was located not in California but in West Orange, New Jersey. You can see a small-scale model of it at the museum.

Edison also had nine patents in the movie film industry, including a movie projector and a kinetoscope. You might recall seeing flipbooks that have a drawing on each page. When you flip through the book quickly, the images appear in motion. Those flipbooks act like a kinetoscope.

Edison had a projecting kinetoscope that displayed images on a wall. Like a modern-day motion picture, the kinetoscope consisted of multiple images captured within a short time frame, which gave the appearance of subjects in motion, similar to our flipbooks.

He also produced a home kinetoscope in 1913, so people could enjoy a short movie in the comfort of their homes, where they could select a film from a catalog. Think of it as a precursor to modern-day streaming.

Right next to the kinetoscopes in the museum, you’ll see Edison’s phonographs. If you have a record player, you have a phonograph. Not only could the phonograph play music, but it could also record sound and play it back.

The most unique (and creepy) phonograph on display at the museum is Edison’s Talking Doll. The doll spoke prerecorded nursery rhymes. It also had real human hair on top of its head. These were not popular, and it is pretty obvious why.

Don’t miss the remarkable phonograph with the biting marks. Edison had substantial hearing loss in his later years, and the only way he could listen to the sound was to bite down and feel the vibrations!

See Henry Ford’s 1914 Model T

The Orientation Gallery is the first museum gallery you step into after purchasing your tickets. You will see four classic cars, including Henry Ford’s 1914 Model T, and wow, it’s a beauty. I love classic cars.

Ford’s assembly line cut down production time, making cars affordable to more people. The Model T was one of these economical cars, costing around $550 (a little over $14,000 today). Most cars in 1914 were painted black. I am guessing people confused their vehicles with others frequently!

Also, in this gallery, you’ll see Henry Ford’s 1916 Model T. This car was given as a birthday gift to Thomas Edison. Pretty nice birthday gift if you ask me!

Thomas Edison’s Botanical Laboratory

Don’t miss the laboratory during your Edison and Ford Winter Estates visit. It is located right outside the museum, and you will see signs indicating the direction.

The laboratory is my favorite thing to see on the entire property. It’s almost as if you stepped back in time to see how the lab operated, and the remarkable thing is that most of the items are original.

Established in 1928 by Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Harvey Firestone (Firestone tires), the lab served as a research and testing center to grow rubber in the United States.

All three were concerned about how much rubber the United States purchased from foreign countries. Edison was definitely not one to quit, and after years of testing, he finally succeeded in producing rubber at a quicker pace by crossbreeding the goldenrod plant.

Another surprising and really cool feature about the lab is that it has a darkroom! Similar to what you find in a dark room today, their research process was documented by pictures to maintain thorough notes. Many of these photos developed in the darkroom are now displayed in the museum.

Edison and Ford Winter Estates

You’ll have to cross the street to visit the estates. Luckily, the walk from the museum to the estates is not too far. And don’t worry; there is a crosswalk, but be careful.

The estates sit right next to the Caloosahatchee River. You’ll see a beautiful pathway lined with tall royal palms. Edison’s main house and guest home are situated along this pathway. If you continue down, you will see Henry Ford’s estate.

There is also Edison’s caretaker house, a swimming pool, Edison’s study, and the caretaker cottage for Ford. You won’t have to walk too far to see all these as they are near each other.

The houses are not what I imagined. I suppose I’m used to the lavish Châteauesque (think Biltmore House in North Carolina) or Victorian-style architecture popular during this timeframe. 

Instead, the exterior of Edison’s and Ford’s homes is relatively modern. Edison’s main wooden house and guest home have many windows and large, spacious porches. Henry Ford’s estate is craftsman style – very cozy and inviting. You can peer inside certain rooms in the homes, but you cannot walk into them.

Seminole Lodge

Edison’s winter home is known as the Seminole Lodge. The main house was completed in 1886, just in time to return to Florida with Mina, whom Edison married that same year. Today, you can see the family’s bedrooms, the den, a library, and a study.

Edison acquired the guest house in 1906. It has a kitchen, dining room, sitting room, guest bedrooms, and rooms for the staff. President Hoover was one of the famous guests that stayed at Seminole Lodge.

I love that most of the furniture is original – even the wicker furniture on the porch once belonged to the Edison family. The furniture is well-preserved, and some of the pieces look modern.

The Mangoes

Walking a little further down from Seminole Lodge but not too far, you’ll reach the Mangoes – Henry Ford’s winter home. The name of the house fits the area. You’ll notice large orange mangoes if you look up at some of the trees.

Henry Ford and his family purchased this home next to Edison in 1916. The funny thing is that you might expect Henry Ford to have an oversized garage for his cars. But no. The garage was relatively small; you can buy ice cream there today. 

The Gardens

The Edison and Ford Winter Estates have 20 acres of beautiful gardens where you can stroll by different varieties of plants. There are many unique plants, and you might be surprised to discover something you have never seen. We saw bamboo, tropical fruit trees, cycads, and so many palm trees.   

The most stunning tree is the gigantic banyan tree near the museum entrance and the parking lot. You can’t miss it. 

If you want a further breakdown of what is in bloom each month, visit their website. You can even purchase a plant on-site in their garden center near the museum and gift shop entrance. I was very tempted to buy a gorgeous tropical plant but was unsure about taking it in the car for the road trip home.

A Note on My Images

This post contains a mixture of film and digital images. For the film, I used Portra 400 in my Canon E0S-1N. I also had my Instax Square SQ1 to take a few instant shots of the homes. Instax Square is best for taking pictures of landscapes and architecture. 

In retrospect, I wish I had taken more pictures with film during our visit. Unfortunately, I had to put away my film camera for some time since it started to rain while we were touring the estates. The rain didn’t stop me from getting digital images, though.

I am slightly surprised the exposures came out well for Edison’s Botanical Laboratory. The lab has low light, and a tall barrier prevents you from walking fully inside. You can view the lab; you just can’t walk between the tables and machinery. 

The top of the lab’s barrier was at level with my head. I had to stand on my tiptoes to get the shots that I took, and it was hard not to move. My camera was on the smallest aperture value to get enough shutter speed to take the images. Still blurry in some areas of the photos, but I like how they look. And they are now my favorites from the whole set!

Have you been to the Edison and Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers? Please share your experience below !

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2 thoughts on “a look inside the edison and ford winter estates”.

do they have any transportation around for the handicap??

Thank you for your comment. The Estates are ADA accessible and more information can be found here on their site: https://www.edisonfordwinterestates.org/visit/accessibility/

Jessica Travel by Grain

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Florida itinerary: Edison & Ford Winter Estates

Come to Edison & Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers, Florida, and stay for the day! There is a lot to see, do and learn! Groups can take a tour of the winter homes of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford, see the museum and laboratory and walk through more than 20 acres of historic gardens. They can also take a Caloosahatchee River cruise to learn even more about the history of the area and see wildlife up close. The homes and gardens have been restored to the 1929 time period, so visitors can step back in time and imagine what it was like to be one of the famous inventors. There are several types of tours available, including the Historian-Led Tour of the laboratory, museum, gardens and homes; a Self-guided Tour; a Garden Tour, led by horticulturists through the historic gardens and propagating nursery; or they can opt for touring the lab and museum only.

Visitors will see the National Chemical Landmark botanic research laboratory that looks just as it did when Edison was there conducting research; the 15,000-square-foot museum filled with inventions, artifacts, historic photos and video documentaries on the lives of the famous inventors; the winter homes of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford; and more than 20 acres of beautiful botanic gardens including trees that Edison planted almost 100 years ago.

There are several types of tours available for groups, including the Historian-Led Tour of the laboratory, museum, gardens and homes; a self-guided tour where visitors can stroll at their own pace while listening to a hand-held audio device; and a Garden Tour, led by horticulturists through the historic gardens and a behind-the-scenes tour of the propagating nursery. For groups that are short on time, a ticket for touring only the museum and lab is also offered.

A sample itinerary includes a guided, Historian-Led Tour, lunch and a river cruise.

10:30 a.m: . Arrive at Edison & Ford Winter Estates 11:00 a.m.: Historian-Led Tour of the winter estate homes of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford, the laboratory, museum and gardens 12:30 p.m.: Pinchers Lunch (a catered or boxed lunch at Edison Ford is also available) 2:00 p.m.: Pure Florida River Cruise on the MV Edison Explorer with historian guide

Visitors will learn a lot about the two amazing inventors. Thomas Edison had at least one patent every year for 60 years. Groups will learn the total number of patents Edison had and why many of those inventions are still important today. Edison tested more than 17,000 plants in his botanic research laboratory. Visitors will learn what he was looking for and why. With the museum, laboratory, homes and gardens, there is something for everyone to enjoy!

ASK Edison & Ford Winter Estates 239-334-7419 EdisonFordWinterEstates.org

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Fort myers’ edison and ford winter estates captivate with colorful gardens, history, here, inventive giants spent significant time living and working.

When I visited the Fort Myers area in the fall, the growing season was over in Ohio, but gardens were flourishing in Florida in the cooler October days and evenings. I loved visiting the Sanibel Island Farmers Market (see bit.ly/fla-captiva-sanibel ) and the gardens at the Edison and Ford Winter Estates, which were both beautiful and intriguing.

Edison was a native Ohioan, born in 1847 in Milan, where he lived with his family until they moved to Michigan in 1854. His home in Milan is now The Thomas Edison Birthplace Museum, dedicated as a National Historic Landmark in 1965.

Drawn to the Fort Myers area by the mild winter temperatures, Edison first came to Southwest Florida in 1885. He was experimenting with bamboo for lightbulb filaments, and the bamboo growing along the Caloosahatchee River intrigued him. Edison and his experiments would expand and increase in Florida.

He purchased 13.5 acres of Fort Myers land along the riverside and began designing a winter vacation home for him and his young wife, Mina. Called Seminole Lodge when it was completed in 1886, it became the Edisons’ winter home for 38 years.

Before Mina died in 1947, she deeded the estate, including its furnishings and 20 acres of botanic gardens, to the city of Fort Myers. Restoration has been ongoing, and today the Edison and Ford Winter Estates host more than 200,000 visitors each year.

Friends who came to visit the Edisons at their winter home included Henry Ford, who bought the house and property next door, called The Mangoes, two years after his first visit. Edison, Ford and Harvey Firestone enjoyed camping together and traveled into the Florida Everglades, collecting plant samples for their rubber research as they hunted and fished.

Their quest was an important one because vital rubber supplies had been depleted during World War I and a substitute was needed. More than 17,000 plants were collected, and, in 1927, the men formed the Edison Botanic Research Corporation and built a lab at Edison’s estate. It was operational until 1936, when the research was transferred to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Today’s visitors can see the lab with its original glass test tubes and equipment. It’s easy to imagine the friends toiling away with tests on their plant samples, which eventually revealed that goldenrod could be transformed into the best latex.

Mina’s Moonlight Garden replaced the research lab in 1929, after it was purchased by Ford and moved to his Greenfield Village outside of Detroit. As part of the deal with his neighbor, Ford built a new lab for Edison on the east side of the property.

The Moonlight Garden was designed with blue and white flowers and a pool to reflect the moonlight. Mina, who was a member of 12 gardening societies, used the Moonlight Garden to entertain garden clubs. Today, it contains more than 120 different trees, shrubs and annual plants. Edison’s Study, a small building constructed next to the Moonlight Garden, was used by Edison to meet with reporters during his annual birthday interviews each February.

Plants of all kinds were important to the Edisons and Ford, and they continue to make an impact on those visiting the Edison and Ford Winter Estates. The original banyan tree planted by Edison in the late 1920s today is one of the largest in the United States, with a canopy extending more than an acre and a huge Mysore Fig tree getting attention in a corner of the Ford estate. They remain from the years the men were wintertime neighbors in Fort Myers.

Fruits, especially citrus fruits, were an important part of the men’s winter estates. Groves were laid out in lines on the Ford Estate when he purchased it, and by the 1940sm dozens of orange and grapefruit trees had joined the mango trees from which Ford’s estate took its name. Next door on Edison’s estate were more than 300 fruit trees. The Henry Ford Citrus Grove was established in 2019 to interpret the horticultural significance of citrus in Florida. The Citrus Cafe is being created to focus on gourmet citrus foods and drinks.

Tours of the Estates’ 20 acres of botanic gardens, led by horticulturists, are among the most popular of the guided tours available. Curators who performed the restoration of the botanic research lab lead Inside-the-Lab tours to parts of Edison’s laboratory that usually are closed. Inside-the-Home tours take guests into regularly closed-off areas in both Edison’s and Ford’s homes. The small group sizes allow an in-depth experience and time for questions and discussions.

Self-guided tours, using site maps filled with historical information, allow visitors to tour at their own pace.

Travelers’ checks

The Edison and Ford Winter Estates, 2350 McGregor Blvd., are about a half hour from the Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers. It’s open from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. every day of the year, with the last tickets sold at 4:30 p.m.

Tickets for self-guided tours are $25 for adults, $20 for teens and $15 for children 6 through 12. Parking and entry for children under 6 are free.

Garden Talks, led by horticulturists, are at 10 a.m. the second Saturday of each month so visitors can learn about the significance of different plant varieties Thomas and Mina Edison brought to their winter home. Garden classes take place at 1:30 p.m. each Tuesday.

A free Garden Festival takes place twice a year in the grassy area around the lab and banyan tree. The next ones are Nov. 19 and 20 and Feb. 11 and 12. Amid food trucks and live music, garden vendors from throughout the state will offer unusual plants and trees for sale.

Get further information at edisonford.org or call 239-334-7419.

Further Edison illumination

The Thomas Edison Birthplace Museum in Milan, south of Sandusky, is a great place to gather further insight into this remarkable inventor of the phonograph, telephone transmitter, incandescent lights and hundreds of other things.

His Edison Electric Company became General Electric in 1892, and the work he did on storage batteries has led to the development of today’s electric cars and modern alkaline batteries. By the time of his death on Oct. 18, 1931, he had amassed a record 1,093 patents.

The museum is at 9 N. Edison Drive. Call 419-499-2135 and go to tomedison.org .

Thomas Edison’s Menlo Park Complex from New Jersey, as well as his Botanical Laboratory from his winter home in Fort Myers, Florida, have been transported piece by piece to Greenfield Village, the 80-acre outdoor museum in Dearborn, Michigan, that’s part of the Henry Ford Museum.

Greenfield Village’s seven historic districts allow visitors to immerse themselves into 300 years of American history. Find out more at thehenryford.org/visit/greenfield-village .

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Ship & Shore Group Tours 

407- 408- 5200

Thomas Edison & Henry Ford

Winter estates.

Tuesday June 25 , 2024

* Visit Edison's & Ford's Winter Estates in Fort Myers FL ! 

* Admission to the grounds with a   self-guided tour !

* Includes: Homes, Gardens, Museum and Laboratory !

* Sit-down luncheon at Joe's Crab Shack  on the marina !

* All taxes & gratuities are included* !

* Deluxe motor coach transportation !

* Personalized V.I.P. service with onboard host/hostess !

352-558-70 00

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Edison And Ford Holiday Nights 2023

This event ended on December 31, 2023 5:30 pm

Don’t Miss The 48th Annual Edison And Ford Holiday Nights!

Thousands of lights, hundreds of historic decorations, and one unique holiday experience await you nightly! Holiday Nights will run from November 24, 2023 through December 31, 2023, except for Christmas Eve and Christmas night. This year’s theme is “Holidays on Wheels” and will incorporate many different types of wheels, especially car wheels because of the connection to Henry Ford, and also wagon wheels, bicycle tires, ships steering wheels, and train wheelsets.

In addition, lights with new technology are being installed this year. Throughout the property, many of the displays will have more lights than ever before. The palms will have animated “magic lights” that will change colors, and for the first time, the historic pond near the river pavilion will be lighted and there will be lights on the waterfall that are animated and choreographed to music.

Guided Holiday Tradition Tours will be offered at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. every night or visitors can meander at their own pace on a self-guided tour. Inside-the-Homes tours will be offered on November 29, and December 6, 13, and 20 at 6:30 p.m. for a special up-close looks at the homes’ decorated interiors.

Ticket Prices

• Holiday Nights tickets for adults are $20, teens (13-19) $10, children (6-12) are $2, and $10 for Edison Ford members. Get tickets online
• Guided Holiday Tradition Tours are $30 for adults, teens are $25, children $18, and $15 for Edison Ford members.
• Inside-the-Homes Holiday Tours are $50 per person.

Guided tours are not available for advance purchase, and must be purchased in the ticket office on a first-come first-served basis after 4:30pm on the day of the tour. Guided tour admission includes general admission to Holiday Nights to allow visitors to explore on their own at the conclusion of the tour.

Lee County residents with identification will receive $5 off regular-priced Holiday Nights admission on Monday nights.

Special Events Schedule

Tree lighting.

On Friday, November 24 at 6 p.m., this year’s event will kick-off with a tree lighting ceremony. Guests will have an opportunity to participate in the countdown with Dave Elias from NBC-2 when the Christmas tree on the Ford property is lit with thousands of animated lights choreographed to holiday music. Female vocalists, the American Sirens, will perform shortly after the tree lighting.

Children’s Events

The family-oriented event includes the Children’s Tree Trail, which features 50 trees decorated with handmade ornaments from Lee County school children. On Sunday evenings from 6-8 p.m., Santa and Mrs. Claus will be visiting, and on December 3 and 10, children can get their face painted (additional charge for face painting). Then, on December 16 and 23, there will be a teddy bear booth, where children can make a bear (additional charge).

There will be music on several nights, including strolling carolers, a pianist, and tenor saxophone and trumpet players. In addition, the Fort Myers Symphonic Mastersingers will perform on December 13. An antique circus car (a Calliope) with a built-in pipe organ will be played at 6 p.m. on December 12. Curators will be on hand to answer questions about the car, which is a modified 1914 Model T Ford.

Market Mondays

Guests can shop for gift items during Market Mondays, when multiple craft and holiday vendors will have booths around the Banyan tree from 4-9 p.m. on December 4, 11, and 18.

This event runs from November 24, 2023 5:30 pm to December 31, 2023 5:30 pm .

Exploring the genius of early snowbird Thomas Edison, at his winter home in Fort Myers

• Updated: Jan. 27, 2023, 7:16 a.m. |
• Published: Jan. 26, 2023, 8:24 a.m.

Thomas Edison and his family lived in side-by-side homes on the bank of the Caloosahatchee River in Fort Myers, Florida.

• Susan Glaser, cleveland.com

FORT MYERS, Florida – He was one of Florida’s first snowbirds, traveling south every winter to escape brutal cold weather in New Jersey.

But Thomas Edison was no ordinary tourist and his time in Florida was no ordinary holiday.

“This wasn’t a vacation for Edison,” said Alexandria Edwards, marketing coordinator at the Edison and Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers. “He never stopped working.”

Indeed, one of Edison’s first tasks upon buying land in Fort Myers in 1885 was to build a lab, where he worked on numerous projects, including finding a natural source for rubber.

Edison’s close friend, Henry Ford, who bought a home next to Edison’s in 1916, removed the lab in 1926, relocating it to Greenfield Village, his history museum outside Detroit. (“Ford even took the Fort Myers soil,” said Edwards.)

Then Ford built another lab for Edison, which still stands on the property, part of the Edison and Ford Winter Estates, a collection of historic buildings and botanical gardens.

The complex, just west of downtown, sustained minor damage from Hurricane Ian in late September, was closed for a month, but is back to welcoming thousands of guests every week. Visitors can easily spend a half-day here, immersing themselves in the beauty of the property and the accomplishments of its occupants.

Edison winter home decorated for Christmas, in Fort Myers, Florida.

Inside Edison's lab, part of the Edison and Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers, Florida.

A Model T, gifted to Edison from Henry Ford, on display at the Edison and Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers, Florida.

Edison arrives in Fort Myers

Ohio-born Edison, already a well-known inventor, started to develop respiratory problems in his late 30s, said Edwards. “His doctors told him to go south for the winter.”

His first stop was in St. Augustine, in northern Florida, where the weather that winter was unseasonably cold. So he headed farther south, traveling by railroad and then boat to Punta Rassa, at the mouth of the Caloosahatchee on Florida’s southwest coast.

Fort Myers at the time was a small ranching town, with fewer than 400 residents. Edison bought his 13.5 acres from a local rancher in 1885 for $2,700 – a substantial overpayment, according to Edwards, who added, “The joke was that he got the Yankee discount.”

The town would never be the same.

Edison would spend the next several decades traveling back and forth between Florida and the East Coast. He built two homes on the land, a main house for him and his second wife, Mina Miller Edison, and their growing family, and an adjacent guest house. Both were fabricated from preassembled kits of white spruce and cedar, sent from Maine, and featured high ceilings and expansive windows, which aided airflow decades before the invention of air conditioning.

Read more: An education in Thomas Edison’s early life, at his birthplace home in Milan, Ohio

Originally occupied by Edison colleague Ezra Gilliland, the guest house eventually became an extension of the Edison home, featuring a kitchen, dining room and additional bedrooms for the family’s six children.

Most of the furnishings, including Mina’s 1901 George Steck grand piano, are original to the family.

The houses stayed in the Edison family after his death in 1931. In 1947, Mina Edison sold it for $1 to the city of Fort Myers, which opened it that year to the public.

Henry Ford, meanwhile, first came to Fort Myers to visit his friend Edison in 1914. He bought the house next door – built in 1911 by New York entrepreneur Robert Smith – in 1916, and vacationed here for two weeks every winter until Edison died.

It was added to the Edison estate complex and opened to the public in 1990.

Most tours do not go in the houses, but visitors can easily see the interiors from the covered porches, via open doorways and windows. A large table in the dining room was the centerpiece of numerous social engagements that Edison made a habit of leaving early.

“He wasn’t fond of dinner parties,” said Edwards, likely in large part because he was deaf most of his life.

He was also a workaholic, who spent long hours in the lab every day, well into his 80s.

A statue of Mina Miller Edison, an Akron native, on the grounds of the Edison and Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers.

Henry Ford bought the house next to the Edisons in 1916; it was opened to the public in 1990.

A massive banyan tree, used in Edison's scientific experiments, on the grounds of the Edison and Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers.

Edison’s lab – the one Ford built to replace the one taken to Michigan – is located across McGregor Boulevard from the homes, adjacent to a 15,000-square foot museum, which houses artifacts and exhibits about Edison’s inventions and accomplishments.

On display in the museum: exhibits featuring the evolution of lightbulbs and phonographs; numerous cars, including the 1916 Model T gifted to Edison from Ford, with a crank start and speedometer/odometer on the side of the wheel; and a collection of batteries (“Edison’s most profitable invention,” according to Edwards).

The adjacent Edison Botanic Research Laboratory looks like it might have been used yesterday – as if Edison and Ford, and fellow collaborator Harvey Firestone, the founder of Firestone Tire and Rubber, had just stepped away for lunch. There’s cotton on the counter, a lathe at the ready, test tubes waiting to be filled.

During his final years, Edison was working furiously to find a natural source for rubber, although he was ultimately unsuccessful.

“He wanted something that could grow quickly,” said Edwards. “They tested 17,000 plants.”

Among the organic matter considered: the banyan tree, which ultimately proved to be too slow-growing and impractical.

Slow-growing, but also magnificent: A banyan tree planted not far from the lab in 1927 is now one of the largest in the U.S., according to Edwards, with a canopy that covers almost an acre.

Also on the grounds: Mina’s Moonlight Garden, built on the site of her husband’s first lab, with blue and white flowers and a small pool to reflect the moonlight.

A swimming pool – the first residential pool in Fort Myers – is currently off-limits due to hurricane damage.

Edison didn’t use the pool much, said Edwards. He wasn’t much into exercise.

“He believed in exercising the mind,” she said. And indeed, his property in Florida offers abundant proof of that.

View of the Caloosahatchee River from the Edison estate in Fort Myers.

If you go: Edison and Ford Winter Estates

Where: 2350 McGregor Blvd., Fort Myers

When: The property is open daily, 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; closed Thanksgiving and Christmas. Numerous special events are hosted on the grounds annually, including concerts, gardening events and the annual Holiday Nights festival every December.

How much: Tours are either self-guided ($25, adult) or guided ($30), offered numerous times daily. Specialty tours are offered as well, focused on home interiors, automotive history and gardens. For information: edisonfordwinterestates.org/visit/tickets-tours/

More information: edisonford.org ; visitfortmyers.com

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