(16 Aug 2025)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Fort Myers, Florida – 9 August 2025
1. Various of Edison Ford Estate showcasing historical architecture and lush surroundings
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Isaac Hunter, lead historian, Edison and Ford Winter Estates:
"The Edison and Ford Winter Estates is a museum, a historic site, a botanical garden, and it’s really a place where we tell the story of Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, their influence on Fort Myers, Southwest Florida, as well as a lot of the work they did down here, including a company, the Edison Botanic Research Corporation, where they worked on rubber right here where we’re standing."
3. Wide of machinery and workbenches inside the Edison Ford Estate workshop and laboratory
4. Mid of vintage bottles and jars on a shelf
5. Close up of a framed photo of Thomas Edison and his wife at the Edison Ford Estate
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Lisa Wilson, marketing & public relations director, Edison and Ford Winter Estates:
"This was basically a vacation place for them. This is where they spent their winter months. They came down here to escape the cold, like many snowbirds do today."
7. Wide of the remains of a pier at the Edison Ford Estate
8. Mid of historical photo display at the Edison Ford Estate museum
9. Wide of visitors exploring vintage cars at the Edison Ford Estate
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Isaac Hunter, lead historian, Edison and Ford Winter Estates:
"Henry Ford was a huge fan of Thomas Edison. And as he started to work on automobiles and become a bigger, bigger name in the world, he continued to contact Thomas Edison, write letters, ask him advice."
11. Close up of a Edison statue on display at the Edison Ford Estate museum
12. Close up of vintage light bulbs glowing at the Edison Ford Estate
13. Wide of the interior of the historic Edison Ford Estate showcasing vintage decor and furnishings
14. Mid of historical documents and books displayed at the Edison Ford Estate
15. Mid of vintage Edison phonograph records and books on display at the Edison Ford Estate
16. SOUNDBITE (English) Lisa Wilson, marketing & public relations director, Edison and Ford Winter Estates:
"When you think about the impact that Thomas Edison’s inventions have on our everyday life, such as electricity, and while he didn’t invent the light bulb, he improved upon an invention that already existed, but today we have electricity, we have the lightbulb, and of course with Henry Ford, the automobile became affordable to everyday people. Also, the phonograph, so there was recorded sound and we can listen to music. There are so many things that impact our daily life today that we have Thomas Edison and Henry Ford to thank for."
17. Wide of visitors exploring exhibits at the Edison Ford Estate museum
18. Various of a volunteer handling an antique phonograph at the Edison Ford Estate exhibit
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARCHIVE: Fort Myers, Florida – 13 March 1928
19. STILL: Henry Ford and his wife Clara, Thomas Edison and his wife Mina, at the Edisons’ estate
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARCHIVE: Fort Myers, Florida – 26 February 1931
20. STILL: Thomas Edison’s laboratory and workshop
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Fort Myers, Florida – 14 March (year unknown)
21. Henry Ford, Thomas A. Edison and Harvey Firestone pose together at the estate
STORYLINE:
Thomas Edison and Henry Ford are famous for their innovations in electricity generation and automobiles respectively, but they were also at the forefront of a massively popular trend in Florida: Rich people from up north spending the cold winter months in the Sunshine State.
AP Video by Cody Jackson
Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/
You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/2a3352ee31ec4bb2bba56a3f811a8f56
Author: AP Archive
Go to Source
News post in August 21, 2025, 6:05 am.
Visit Our Sponsor’s:
News Post In – News
