Visitors to the Edison and Ford Winter Estates will enjoy more than 20 acres of historical buildings and gardens including the 1928 Edison Botanical Research Laboratory. Edison and Ford Estates is a National Register Historic Site and is one of the most visited historic home sites in the United States. Edison first came to southwest Florida in 1885 and purchased 13 acres along the Caloosahatchee River. The Edison family enjoyed wintering in Florida for six decades. In 1947, Edison’s wife Mina deeded the estate to the City of Fort Myers. Many of the home’s furnishings are original to the family.
In 1914, Henry and Clara Ford and their son Edsel visited Fort Myers at the invitation of Thomas Edison. They enjoyed the visit so much that two years later, Ford purchased the home adjacent to the Edison Winter Estate. The two-story riverfront home was built in the Craftsman architectural style. The Ford’s sold The Mangoes in 1945 to a private family, who then sold the estate to the City of Fort Myers in the late 1980s – the City has since opened it to the public. www.edisonfordwinterestates.org
