The Edison and Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers preserve the adjoining riverfront winter homes of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford, along with extensive botanical collections and a major museum site. Edison bought his property in 1885 and used Seminole Lodge as his winter retreat until 1931; Ford acquired the neighboring estate in 1916. The grounds include more than 1,750 plants from over 890 species and varieties, as well as designed gardens and notable specimen trees. The 1928 Edison Botanical Research Laboratory is especially significant for Edison’s work to find a domestic rubber source, research that led him to identify a promising goldenrod species after testing more than 17,000 plant samples.

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain

Fort Myers, Florida · USA