Vienna in Elgin County, Ontario — Central Canada (North America)

The Edison Homestead

Photographed by Tim Boyd, July 27, 2024

1. The Edison Homestead Marker

Inscription. On this site stood the home of Samuel Edison, a Loyalist from New Jersey who had moved to Nova Scotia in 1783 and settled here in 1811. During the War of 1812 he served as a captain in the 1st Middlesex Militia. Tradition maintains that this community was named Vienna at his suggestion. One of his sons, Samuel Jr. supported the reform movement in Upper Canada, and after taking part in the Rebellion of 1837, fled to the United States. He settled in Milan, Ohio, where on February 11, 1847 his son, the noted inventor Thomas Alva Edison, was born. As a boy Thomas Edison visited his grandfather here in Vienna.

Erected by Ontario Archaeological and Historical Sites Board.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Settlements & Settlers • War of 1812. In addition, it is included in the Canada, Ontario Heritage Trust series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1811.

Location. 42° 40.603′ N, 80° 47.547′ W. Marker is in Vienna, Ontario, in Elgin County. It is at the intersection of Plank Road and Water Street, on the right when traveling south on Plank Road. Touch for map.

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Marker is in this post office area: Vienna ON N0J 1Z0, Canada. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Southwest Ontario Area

and in Southwestern Ontario.

It is also in Central Canada.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Great Lakes,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British colony,

the Viceroyalty of New France,

the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

and Rupert’s Land.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 23 kilometers of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Trinity Anglican Church 1836 (approx. 3.6 kilometers away); Lieut.-Col. Mahlon Burwell (approx. 3.6 kilometers away); Port Burwell Lighthouse 1840 (approx. 3.7 kilometers away); Aylmer Cenotaph (approx. 19 kilometers away); The Founding of Aylmer (approx. 19 kilometers away); The Founding of Springfield (approx. 20.6 kilometers away); Springfield Cenotaph (approx. 20.7 kilometers away); Annandale House/ La Maison Annandale (approx. 21.4 kilometers away).

Also see . . . Community Connections - The Edisons and Vienna

Photographed by Tim Boyd, July 27, 2024

2. The Edison Homestead Marker

Ontario.

Built in 1816, the original Edison homestead is long gone from its place along Otter Creek. Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, was a very close friend to Thomas Edison. After Edison’s death in 1931, he purchased the original family homestead and moved it from Vienna to Greenfield Village, Michigan, the site of The Henry Ford Museum.

(Submitted on July 29, 2024, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario.)

1933

3. The Edison Homestead, 1933, in its original location in Vienna, ON

Henry Ford purchased the house that year and moved it to Greenfield Village, MI. Source: The Henry Ford Museum (public domain)

Credits. This page was last revised on September 4, 2025. It was originally submitted on July 29, 2024, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario. This page has been viewed 397 times since then and 84 times this year. Last updated on September 3, 2025, by Shirley J Reeve of Grand Blanc, Michigan. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on July 29, 2024, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.