Photo Tour of the Edison & Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers, Florida

This hub was prepared In December 2010, and you can see some of the colorful Christmas decorations around the buildings and grounds. The renovation of Edison's laboratory is almost finished and will be included when it is completed.

No matter where you are in South Florida, you must visit the splendid winter estates of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford in Fort Myers. If you are traveling from I 75, you can exit on Martin Luther King Boulevard or from Sarasota south on US 41, take McGregor Boulevard as you cross the Caloosahatchee River. It is easy to find.

Off McGregor Blvd, enter the parking area to the west and the sights begin immediately. A magnificent stand of banyan trees are evident drawing you into the museum area.

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Walking into the museum your eyes meet invention after invention of the very imaginative and creative mind of Thomas Alva Edison. .

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Hundreds of items are on display. Below are a few of the most interesting to me.

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The museum and grounds also have remembrances of Henry Ford.

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Once you are finished visiting the museum, be sure to get a listening device in order to get all the interesting information on the buildings and grounds. Now, go across the street to the estates themselves. Here we find the actual houses used by the Edison and Ford families. Lets start with the caretakers house. What a great job that would have been--living on these beautiful grounds, in this great house, in Fort Myers, and with the wonderful Florida climate.

Not many homes had a swimming pool in those days, but here is one that offers freshwater fun with ocean views, side by side. You'll also want to learn about the many ingenious facilities Edison worked into the water system.

Edison had a small, cozy office which has been restored to perfection as has all of the houses. Since all the structures are completely furnished as they were in the 1920s, they are open to the look into, but you cannot enter them.

Moving on across the grounds we find the main residences. These two homes are magnificent examples of early Florida houses with the rear facing out over the bay,

And flowers are found in abundance.

You can wander to your heart's content, and it will take quite awhile until it is content. You'll not want to miss the Florida estates of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford.