Marjory and I visited the Edison and Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers, Florida, on March 5, 2014. This site includes their winter homes, a laboratory, and a museum.
Thomas Edison first purchased 13 acres of land and a cottage in Fort Myers in March of 1885, almost exactly 129 years before our visit. The younger Henry Ford first came to Fort Myers in 1914 at the invitation of Mr. Edison. He bought the house next door in 1916 (at far left in the photo below). While Edison often stayed the winter in Florida, Ford would visit for only a week or two each year.
The homes are sturdy and well furnished, but clearly intended only as vacation cottages. Their greatest asset is their frontage on the Caloosahatchee River – the only means of access until the train arrived in 1904. Visitors are provided with an audio tour of the site. The homes are not actually entered – they are visible through the doorways and windows facing their extensive porches. We spent a pleasant two hours strolling the grounds.
The museum has an extensive collection of Edison memorabilia with somewhat less about Mr. Ford. Although there are several Model T’s and a Model A on site, this is not an automotive museum.
For me, the most interesting bit of history was about the rubber industry. During the 1870s, rubber tree seeds were smuggled from Brazil and rubber plantations established in East Asia. During World War I the price of rubber rose dramatically because a cartel of Dutch and English rubber barons controlled these plantations and the majority of the world’s rubber supply. As a result, Edison, Ford, and their friend Harvey Firestone began looking for solutions.
One possible solution was to find a domestic plant that produced latex (a white milky sap). To that end, the Edison Botanic Research Corporation was formed in 1927 by Edison, Ford, and Firestone. Its laboratory was constructed across the road from the estates, completed in 1928. It was found that Goldenrod was the best domestic source of latex but that production costs were too high. The project continued for a few years after Edison’s death in 1931.
At the same time, Henry Ford attempted to develop large-scale rubber plantations in Brazil. His first effort was to purchase nearly 2.5 million acres that he called Fordlandia in 1929. When the soil at Fordlandia was found to be inadequate, he bought another tract called Belterra in 1934 and shifted his emphasis there. At both plantations, he built entire towns along with schools, hospitals, and production facilities. By 1940, about 500 Brazilians worked at Fordlandia and another and 2,500 downstream at Belterra. However, mass production of latex rubber was never achieved.
In 1931, the first viable synthetic rubber called Neoprene was developed. This eventually eliminated the need for Ford’s plantations, and in 1945 he sold both to Brazilian government at a loss of $20 million (over $200 million today). Synthetic rubber also removed the need for the Edison Botanic Research Corporation, which closed in 1936.
Thomas Edison first purchased 13 acres of land and a cottage in Fort Myers in March of 1885, almost exactly 129 years before our visit. The younger Henry Ford first came to Fort Myers in 1914 at the invitation of Mr. Edison. He bought the house next door in 1916 (at far left in the photo below). While Edison often stayed the winter in Florida, Ford would visit for only a week or two each year.
The homes are sturdy and well furnished, but clearly intended only as vacation cottages. Their greatest asset is their frontage on the Caloosahatchee River – the only means of access until the train arrived in 1904. Visitors are provided with an audio tour of the site. The homes are not actually entered – they are visible through the doorways and windows facing their extensive porches. We spent a pleasant two hours strolling the grounds.
The museum has an extensive collection of Edison memorabilia with somewhat less about Mr. Ford. Although there are several Model T’s and a Model A on site, this is not an automotive museum.
For me, the most interesting bit of history was about the rubber industry. During the 1870s, rubber tree seeds were smuggled from Brazil and rubber plantations established in East Asia. During World War I the price of rubber rose dramatically because a cartel of Dutch and English rubber barons controlled these plantations and the majority of the world’s rubber supply. As a result, Edison, Ford, and their friend Harvey Firestone began looking for solutions.
One possible solution was to find a domestic plant that produced latex (a white milky sap). To that end, the Edison Botanic Research Corporation was formed in 1927 by Edison, Ford, and Firestone. Its laboratory was constructed across the road from the estates, completed in 1928. It was found that Goldenrod was the best domestic source of latex but that production costs were too high. The project continued for a few years after Edison’s death in 1931.
At the same time, Henry Ford attempted to develop large-scale rubber plantations in Brazil. His first effort was to purchase nearly 2.5 million acres that he called Fordlandia in 1929. When the soil at Fordlandia was found to be inadequate, he bought another tract called Belterra in 1934 and shifted his emphasis there. At both plantations, he built entire towns along with schools, hospitals, and production facilities. By 1940, about 500 Brazilians worked at Fordlandia and another and 2,500 downstream at Belterra. However, mass production of latex rubber was never achieved.
In 1931, the first viable synthetic rubber called Neoprene was developed. This eventually eliminated the need for Ford’s plantations, and in 1945 he sold both to Brazilian government at a loss of $20 million (over $200 million today). Synthetic rubber also removed the need for the Edison Botanic Research Corporation, which closed in 1936.
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