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Fort Myers in Lee County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)
 

Henry Ford's Florida Estate

 
 
Henry Ford's Florida Estate Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, October 10, 2015
1. Henry Ford's Florida Estate Marker
Inscription. Thomas Edison and Henry Ford first met in 1896 at a New York conference of the Edison Illuminating Companies. Ford worked as a mechanic at the Detroit Edison plant. The two were not reacquainted again until 1910, when Edison responded to Ford’s request for an autographed photo for his new office. Along with the photo, Edison invited the Ford family to his New Jersey home, in 1914.

In 1916 Edison’s neighbor, Robert Smith, wrote to Ford relating, “Personally, I would prefer to have you buy it and in this I express the sentiment of the people of Fort Myers. We are all proud to have Mr. Edison spend his winters here and would be just as proud to have Mr. Henry Ford become one of our winter residents.”

With the sale completed in July 1916, Killian Melber, a local florist, became Ford’s first agent in Fort Myers. Ford purchased the home furnished. As Melber prepared the property for the Fords’ visit in 1917, he related to them that all they needed was silverware, bedding, and table linens.

The gardens were well-developed at the time the Fords purchased the estate. They included 100 grapefruit and 50 orange trees, as well as mangoes, paw-paws, lemon, limes, guavas, tangerines, coconuts, and bananas. Smith named the property “The Mangoes” due to the abundance of mango trees.

Ford’s
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Caretaker’s Cottage as it appears today evolved from a garage built in the style of the Ford house with accommodations for a good-sized car, a sleeping room for staff, a pump room and a storeroom overhead.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Notable Places. A significant historical month for this entry is July 1916.
 
Location. 26° 38.067′ N, 81° 52.804′ W. Marker is in Fort Myers, Florida, in Lee County. Marker can be reached from McGregor Boulevard south of Larchmont Avenue, on the right when traveling south. he marker is inside the Edison/Ford Estate. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2350 McGregor Blvd, Fort Myers FL 33901, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Edison Estate Restoration and Rebirth (here, next to this marker); Orchid Lane and Friendship Walk (here, next to this marker); Clara Ford’s Michigan Rose Garden (here, next to this marker); Edison’s “Florida Paradise” (here, next to this marker); Inside the Ford Home (here, next to this marker); Henry Ford (here, next to this marker); Edison Caretaker’s House (here, next to this marker); Edison Caretaker's Yard (here, next to this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Fort Myers.
 
Also see . . .  Edison & Ford Winter Estates. (Submitted on October 26, 2015.)
 
Caretakers House and Garage image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, October 10, 2015
2. Caretakers House and Garage
Henry Ford's Florida Estate image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, October 10, 2015
3. Henry Ford's Florida Estate
Henry Ford's Florida Estate image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, October 10, 2015
4. Henry Ford's Florida Estate
Henry Ford's Florida Estate image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, October 10, 2015
5. Henry Ford's Florida Estate
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on August 24, 2017. It was originally submitted on October 23, 2015, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. This page has been viewed 364 times since then and 22 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on October 23, 2015, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 28, 2024