Sacred Ground in Ft. Myers, Florida

Ft. Myers, Florida is located on the Gulf of Mexico, a couple hours south of Tampa–St. Pete, it is sacred ground to inventors.  It is important because Thomas Edison had his winter retreats there on an estate he called Seminole Lodge.  From the early 1900s to his death in 1931, Edison spent his winters in the sun and warmth of southwest Florida.  Interestingly, Ft. Myers also became the winter vacation home for Henry Ford, the famous automobile manufacturer.

Thomas Edison

Edison originally purchased the property in Ft. Myers in 1885, but it wasn’t until 1901 that he returned with his family.  At first, train transportation ended near Tampa Bay requiring more than a half day’s trip down the Caloosahatchee River to complete the journey.  It was at this time that doctors recommended for health reasons that Edison should leave his Menlo Park, New Jersey home and laboratory for warmer winter weather.  Edison’s new Florida home was actually built in Maine and shipped south by rail, then by river barge, to be assembled as Seminole Lodge.  Fortunately, travel became much easier in 1904 when the railroad was extended to Ft. Myers.

Henry Ford

Henry Ford, the perfector of the modern assembly line, automobile maker and former 8-year employee of Edison, was first invited to Seminole Lodge as a guest in 1914.  Ford had tremendous admiration for America’s Greatest Inventor, giving Edison credit as the person most responsible for encouraging him to be a success.  Henry Ford so admired Edison that he purchased the property next to Edison in 1916 building a winter family home that he called The Mangoes.  Edison was more than just Ford’s mentor, he became an extremely close personal friend.  In the 1920s, Ford and Edison would be joined by rubber tire magnate, Harvey Firestone, and naturalist, John Burroughs on summer camping trips around the country.  The four great men called themselves the Four Vagabonds. One can only imagine what those camp fire talks must have been like.

A few years later, Edison, Ford and Firestone formed the Edison Botanic Research Corporation with the mission of producing rubber for tires and vehicle parts from a quick growing, domestic source of rubber.  A lab was built in Ft. Myers on the Seminole Lodge estate where Edison would work 18 hour days with three associates until his death.  Edison tested hundreds of plants and trees finally settling on a variety of golden rod, but Edison died in 1931 before perfecting his process.  A few years after Edison’s death, Ford and Firestone disbanded the company following the invention of synthetic rubber by Firestone’s engineers and scientists.

It was also in 1930-31 that Ford invented the famous Ford Flathead V-8 Engine.  There is reliable speculation that much of the V-8 work was done by Ford himself in Ft. Myers along with one trusted employee and a next door neighbor named Thomas Edison.  It is said that Edison would walk over to Ford’s garage from time to time to lend a thought or two.   Ford’s Flathead V-8 was in answer to Chevrolet taking the automobile sales lead on the strength of its V-6 engine.  Although Ford’s new V-8 was rushed to market in 1932 and had some problems, the revolutionary car engine was enthusiastically received by the public and has proven to be one of Ford Motor Company’s greatest developments.  With Ford’s invention, a V-8 engine could then be mass-produced for the average car buyer, and no longer just for luxury vehicles.

Although Ford continued to visit The Mangoes in the winters following Edison’s death, his last visit came in 1934 ending a very unique era in American history.