Edison & Ford Winter Estates

We visited the Edison & Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers, Florida, which were built at the turn of the 20th century. The tree trunks in the photo are actually all part on one banyan tree. This banyan tree is one of the largest in the world. Roots hanging down from the tree form new trunks. The tree started as a 4 ft tall specimen in the 1920's.


An orchid growing in the banyan tree.


Edison's chemistry lab. Edison, Ford, and Firestone were looking for a new botanical source of rubber. They experimented with different types of tropical trees. They also did research on materials like bamboo for light bulb filaments.


A series of pullies, similar to those in Greenfield Village, helped power the machines in the workshop.


The Moonlight Garden behind Edison's office.


The pier on the Caloosahatchee River. Supplies for the estates came in via boat.


Edison's home and garden.


An electrolier. The lighting fixtures in the Edison house are fascinating.


Dwarf Poinciana


The interior of the Ford house was decorated in the Arts & Crafts style of the early 20th century. The lamp in the corner is reminiscent of Frank Lloyd Wright's style.


This tree near the Ford house had strange flowers hanging from it.


Close up of the tree's hanging flowers.


A huge old Mysore fig tree with sprawling roots.


Close up of the roots of the Mysore fig tree.


Lipstick Plant

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