Milan in Erie County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Edison Recalls Milan

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Birthplace of Thomas A. Edison

(1847 - 1931)

Edison Recalls Milan Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Denise Boose, October 23, 2015

1. Edison Recalls Milan Marker

Inscription. Edison Recalls Milan My recollections of Milan are somewhat scanty as I left the town when I was not quite seven years old. I remember the wheat elevators on the canal, and Gay shipyard; also the launching of new boats, on which occasion the piece of land called the "Hogback" would be filled with what seemed to me to be the entire population of the Town who came to witness the launching.

I also recall a public square filled at times with farmers teams and also what seemed to be to be an immense number of teams that came to town bringing oak staves for barrels. I can just remember seeing a number of Prairie Schooners encamped in front of our house. This was about 1849 or 1850, when I was but a mere infant and I learned afterwards that these Prairie Schooners were carrying adventurers going to California to hunt for gold. Yours very truly, Signed-Thomas Edison. The Sandusky Register, December 31, 1922.

Birthplace of Thomas A. Edison
(1847 - 1931) One of America's most prolific and important inventors, Thomas Alva Edison was born in this house in 1847. Designed by his father, Samuel Edison, a shingle maker by trade, this small gabled brick cottage was built in 1841. Though the Edisons moved to Port Huron, Michigan, in 1854, when he was seven, Edison cherished

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the memories of his early boyhood here and acquired the home from his sister's family in 1906. Edison's daughter Madeleine Edison Sloane opened the home to the public as a memorial to the great inventor in 1947, the centennial of his birth. It became a registered National Historic Landmark in 1965.

Erected 2002 by The Ohio Bicentennial Commission, The Longaberger Company, The Edison Birthplace Association, Inc., The Ohio Historical Society. (Marker Number 20-22.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • Communications • Waterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the Ohio and Erie Canal, and the Ohio Historical Society / The Ohio History Connection series lists.

Location. 41° 18.01′ N, 82° 36.265′ W. Marker is in Milan, Ohio, in Erie County. It is on East Edison Drive north of Front Street, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 9 East Edison Drive, Milan OH 44846, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on Ohio’s Lake Erie Shore

and in the Western Reserve.

It is also in the American Midwest,

on the Great Lakes,

and in the Corn Belt.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Milan Canal Basin (a few steps from this marker); Thomas A. Edison Birthplace (a few steps from this marker); Edison Statue On Bench (a few steps from this marker);

Birthplace of Thomas A. Edison Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, March 6, 2010

2. Birthplace of Thomas A. Edison Marker

Milan's Hogback (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Two Smaller Homes (about 400 feet away); The Miland House Museum (about 400 feet away); Dr. Lehman Galpin (about 500 feet away); Huron Institute Bell (about 500 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Milan.

Photographed by Denise Boose, October 23, 2015

3. Edison Recalls Milan Marker

Photographed by Denise Boose, October 23, 2015

4. Birthplace of Thomas A. Edison Marker

Edison's Birthplace image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Denise Boose, October 23, 2015

5. Edison's Birthplace

National Historic Landmark plaque on the building's lower left corner image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Buck Tanzi, June 29, 2020

6. National Historic Landmark plaque on the building's lower left corner

Credits. This page was last revised on April 6, 2026. It was originally submitted on November 16, 2015, by Denise Boose of Tehachapi, California. This page has been viewed 803 times since then and 32 times this year. Last updated on April 6, 2026, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. Photos: 1. submitted on November 16, 2015, by Denise Boose of Tehachapi, California. 2. submitted on August 27, 2013, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 3, 4, 5. submitted on November 16, 2015, by Denise Boose of Tehachapi, California. 6. submitted on October 11, 2024, by Buck Tanzi of Poughkeepsie, New York. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.

Edison Recalls Milan

⎯⎯⎯Birthplace of Thomas A. Edison

(1847 - 1931)

⎯⎯⎯
Birthplace of Thomas A. Edison