Edison Guest House

Originally built as a winter retreat for Thomas Edison’s friends Ezra and Lillian Gilliland, the house was occupied by the Gillilands for three years in Fort Myers before they sold it to Ambrose McGregor in 1891. The McGregor family lived in it year-round until 1902, and in 1914 the road along the house was named McGregor Boulevard in honor of Mr. McGregor. Edison purchased the house in 1906 and made it a guest house for family and friends. The building contained the dining room, kitchen and pantry area, and servant’s quarters for the estates. Guests included Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone, who stayed for days, while Charles Lindbergh came for dinner, and many visitors later received mangoes, grapefruit, guava, and orange marmalade at their northern homes as reminders of a Florida visit. An entry in the Seminole Lodge guest book by Harrie Monkhouse, a guest from March 21 to April 3, 1916, praised the Florida coast, the Caloosahatchee, Seminole Lodge, blooming grapefruit and oranges, bananas and palm trees, and the hosts in “this Heaven of sunshine and haze.”

Fort Myers, Florida · United States