Thomas A. Edison Industries Marker

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West Orange in Essex County, New Jersey — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Thomas A. Edison Industries
Edison National Historic Site, NJ

Thomas A. Edison Industries Marker Photo, Click for full size

By Bill Coughlin, November 6, 2009

1. Thomas A. Edison Industries Marker

Inscription. Thomas Edison was not just an inventor – he was a businessman running an industrial empire. Around the laboratory, Edison built large factories where thousands of employees mass-produced his inventions for the public. Edison understood the importance of capital: “I always invented to obtain money to go on inventing.”

The imposing six-story concrete structure to your right was completed in 1914 to produce storage batteries and is the last surviving Edison factory building; the others were demolished in the 1960s and 1970s. At its peak in 1918-19, Thomas A. Edison, Inc. employed about 10,000 workers in West Orange.

Erected by Edison National Historic Site, National Park Service.

Location. 40° 47.034′ N, 74° 14.053′ W. Marker is in West Orange, New Jersey, in Essex County. Marker is on Main Street, on the right when traveling north. Click for map. Marker is in this post office area: West Orange NJ 07052, United States of America.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Second Commercial Electric Railroad Locomotive (here, next to this marker); The Main Gate (here, next to this marker); The Laboratory Complex (a few steps from this marker); Thomas Edison’s West Orange Laboratory (within shouting distance of this marker); Chemistry Laboratory (within shouting distance of this marker); The Courtyard (within shouting distance of this marker); Black Maria Replica (within shouting distance of this marker); The Black Maria (within shouting distance of this marker). Click for a list of all markers in West Orange.

Marker at Edison National Historic Site Photo, Click for full size

By Bill Coughlin, November 6, 2009

2. Marker at Edison National Historic Site

More about this marker. The top right of the marker contains a photograph with a caption of “This aerial view from 1928 shows the extent of Edison’s West Orange factories. You are standing near the water tower (top, center), looking toward the two smokestacks (right).” The bottom of the marker features pictures of products such as storage batteries and phonographs that were developed and manufactured by the Edison Company at West Orange.

Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. Take a tour of the markers found at the Laboratory Complex of Thomas Edison National Historical Park.

Also see . . . Thomas Edison National Historical Park, New Jersey. Nation Park Service website. (Submitted on November 6, 2009, by Bill Coughlin of North Arlington, New Jersey.)