A01=Michele Wehrwein Albion
Author_Michele Wehrwein Albion
Category=DNBT
Edison and Ford Winter Estates
eq_bestseller
eq_biography-true-stories
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
FL
Florida
Florida Gulf Coast
Florida History
Fort Myers
Harvey Firestone
Henry Ford
inventor
Tampa
Thomas Edison
Women's History
Product details
- ISBN 9780813032597
- Weight: 569g
- Dimensions: 160 x 228mm
- Publication Date: 04 Sep 2008
- Publisher: University Press of Florida
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
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Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) was America's most famous and, arguably, most prolific, inventor. But few realize the extent to which he called Florida, not New Jersey, home.From 1885 until his death in 1931, Edison and his family wintered in the sleepy Gulf Coast town of Fort Myers, south of Tampa. There, they were the pride of the small town, which eagerly watched to see what magic the Wizard would conjure. The local newspaper chronicled Edison's local experiments, his establishment of a laboratory in town, and his successful efforts to electrify the area.Edison's presence encouraged Henry Ford to build a Florida estate next door. Edison's experiments with rubber from local plants intrigued Ford and Harvey Firestone, who was also frequently in the area.Using a wide range of little-known resources, including photographs, manuscripts, maps, and newspaper accounts, Michele Albion explores an important facet of Edison's life that is largely unknown. In doing so, she presents the full story of his professional and leisure time while on holiday. Particularly interesting is the impact his wife, Mina, had on the culture and community of Fort Myers. ""The Florida Life of Thomas Edison"" reveals how the Edisons' legacy influenced women's history, environmental history, black history, and Florida history.This book helps readers spend time with some of Florida's most famous snowbirds.
Michele Wehrwein Albion, former assistant curator and registrar at the United States Holocaust Museum, was the first professional curator of the Thomas Edison and Ford Winter estates in Fort Myers, Florida. She lives in Dover, New Hampshire.
