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 Edison Estate - Ft. Myers, FL Posted by:  lazyCachers
N 26° 38.058 W 081° 52.779
17R E 412442 N 2946232
Located on McGregor Blvd. just south of downtown Ft. Myers, Florida.
Waymark Code: WM3T8X
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 05/14/2008
Views: 45
Edison came to Fort Myers in 1886, in search of a suitable filament for the incandescent lamp he was later to perfect. Thinking that the fiber of the bamboo plant that grew abundantly throughout the town would answer his purpose, he established the Edison Estate, 2130 McGregor Blvd., where he spent many months in experimentation, but the bamboo was not used in the perfected electric bulb. On the estate is the inventor's modest frame house, surrounded by luxuriant tropical foliage and citrus trees. A high picket fence around the grounds gave him the privacy he needed for his work. The house is now occupied by his widow (now Mrs. Mina Jane Hughes) in the winter season.
-- Florida: A Guide to the Southernmost State, 1939
A nearby historical marker states, in part: "Mina generously deeded the estate to the City of Fort Myers for $1.00. In her dedication ceremony on March 6, 1947, she stated: "My faith and belief in the sincerity of the people of Fort Myers prompts me to make this sacred spot a gift to you and posterity as a Sanctuary and Botanical Park in the memory of my honored and revered husband, Thomas A. Edison, who so thoroughly believed in the future of Fort Myers." A high picket fence no longer surrounds the house due to hurricanes. Tours are available year round.
Book: Florida
Page Number(s) of Excerpt: 399
Year Originally Published: 1939
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