Edison’s Florida Paradise

Edison’s Florida Paradise. Seminole Lodge in the Works. Thomas Edison befriended Ezra Gilliland when they were telegraph operators in Adrian, Michigan. Later, they became roommates and co-workers in Cincinnati, Ohio. Gilliland was known for his mechanical, technical, and sales expertise, helping Edison manufacture telegraph equipment, the electric pen, and the phonograph., They traveled to Florida in March of 1885 and eventually made their way to Fort Myers. The men decided to build winter retreats adjacent to one another, purchasing land and making plans to transform it. In the summer of 1885, architect Alden Frink of Boston, Massachusetts prepared plans and specifications for a dwelling and machine shop. Frink received a payment of $200., Gilliland contracted the Stephen Nye Lumber Company and Kennebec Framing Company of Fairfield, Maine, which sold "Ready-Made Buildings Furnished for Shipping to Foreign Ports," to have all the material precut, milled, and sent to the building site. Several shipments containing "planks, boards, shingles, windows, and sashes" made their way south by boat, arriving in January of 1886. Every part was "planed, sized, cut, and marked to place" with instructions, which allowed the hired workmen to assemble it correctly and efficiently., Workmen were paid between $1.50 and $2.75 per day, taking only a few months to complete both structures. Unlike many of their wealthy contemporaries, Edison and Gilliland's Florida homes were rather modest, two-story rectangular buildings with separate wings for the kitchens and support staff bedrooms. Once everything was tallied, the men spent nearly $12,000 each, on design, materials, shipping, construction, and furnishings for their winter estates., "Florida is as about near to Heaven as any man can get." , Thomas Edison, Fort Myers News-Press, 1930, (captions) , Left: One of the earliest images of the families at Seminole Lodge in 1886. Some of the people in the photo are known: 1. Thomas Edison sits with his wife Mina (2.). Ezra Gilliland (3.) stands in front, and Edison assistant, Charles Batchelor (4.) sits on the porch steps., Inset: An early view of Thomas Edison's winter home. Today, this is the Main House, and the pergola that connects the two buildings would be to the right.