Florida, Lee County, Fort Myers
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Edison’s plan of a “Floridian bower in the lowlands of the peninsular Eden, with that charmed zone of beauty” was realized as he completed the Seminole Lodge Estate.
By the fall of 1885 designs were completed and materials for construction and painting of the houses and laboratory were purchased. Furnishings, linens, books, and fishing gear were selected. All materials were sent down from northern cities by several steamships, unloaded and assembled on site.
On February 24, 1886, Thomas and Mina Miller were married. Soon after, the couple traveled down to stay at Seminole Lodge. The Florida paradise continued to draw Thomas, and Mina their children, extended family, friends, and business associates for the following 61 years.
“The house is a dream through and we are living in fairyland,” wrote Mina Edison to her mother, February 15, 1910. In Seminole Lodge the Edison family found a retreat from the cold of the northern winter, as well as from the busy work and social demands of New Jersey. However, Edison continued his research on various projects in Fort Myers.
Grateful to the local citizens, Mina deeded the property and the homes to the City of Fort Myers in 1947 for $1. Seminole Lodge has been open for the public to visit and enjoy since November 1947.
(Notable Buildings) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
Edison’s plan of a “Floridian bower in the lowlands of the peninsular Eden, with that charmed zone of beauty” was realized as he completed the Seminole Lodge Estate.By the fall of 1885 designs were completed and materials for construction and painting of the houses and laboratory were purchased. Furnishings, linens, books, and fishing gear were selected. All materials were sent down from northern cities by several steamships, unloaded and assembled on site.
On February 24, 1886, Thomas and Mina Miller were married. Soon after, the couple traveled down to stay at Seminole Lodge. The Florida paradise continued to draw Thomas, and Mina their children, extended family, friends, and business associates for the following 61 years.
“The house is a dream through and we are living in fairyland,” wrote Mina Edison to her mother, February 15, 1910. In Seminole Lodge the Edison family found a retreat from the cold of the northern winter, as well as from the busy work and social demands of New Jersey. However, Edison continued his research on various projects in Fort Myers.
Grateful to the local citizens, Mina deeded the property and the homes to the City of Fort Myers in 1947 for $1. Seminole Lodge has been open for the public to visit and enjoy since November 1947.
(Notable Buildings) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
Named the 20th century “Man of the Millennium” by LIFE Magazine, Thomas Alva Edison is best known for perfecting a commercially viable incandescent light bulb. However, Edison was also a newspaper printer, telegrapher, inventor, businessman, boss, husband, father and friend.
Mina Miller married Thomas Alva Edison in 1886. This was the same year that the two began to create their winter estate in Fort Myers.
Edison, Ford, and Firestone formed the Edison Botanic Research Corporation in 1927 to find a fast-growing, natural source of rubber that could be grown in the United States. The banyan tree was one of more than 17,000 plant specimens that were tested during this project.
This garden area has been created to reflect the Edison original plan for the Estate landscape. It commemorates the legacy of Thomas and Mina Edison and other groups and individuals involved in the cultural landscape of the Edison & Ford Winter Estates.
Blackmore's Fort stood to the northeast on
the Clinch River near the mouth of Stony
Creek. John Blackmore and others likely
constructed the fort by 1774. It served as a
defensive fortification for settlers of European
descent on the frontier. During Dunmore's
War in 1774, Daniel Boone commanded
Blackmore's Fort as well as Moore's and
Cowan's Forts on the Clinch River. During that
war and the American Revolution (1775–1783).
periodic conflicts between Native Americans
and settlers occurred there, in part because of
increased settlement. In the nearby cemetery
are buried some of the early settlers to the area.
In August 1955 the body of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old black youth from Chicago, was found in the Tallahatchie River. On September 23, in a five day trial held in this courthouse, an all-white jury acquitted two white men, Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam, of the murder. Both later confessed to the murder in a magazine interview. Till's murder, coupled with the trial and acquittal of these two men, drew international attention and galvanized the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi and the nation.
Orange Graded School, built in 1925 to replace
the African American schoolhouse on West Main
Street, stood here. Of the several county schools
for black students, Orange Graded was the only
one built using the Julius Rosenwald Fund, which
was established in 1917 by the president of Sears, Roebuck and Company to construct schools for
African Americans across the rural South. Of
the $6,200 building cost, 40 percent was raised
by the local African American community. This
four-teacher standard plan school was one of the
larger Rosenwalds built in Virginia. Gussie Baylor
Taylor was recruited to teach in 1925 and later
served as the school's supervisor.
J. Augustine Signaigo, born in 1835 in Italy, founded the Grenada Sentinel in 1854. A poet, he wrote the libretto of a hit Civil War operetta, "The Vivandiere." He served as president of the Mississippi Press Association in 1869. He died in 1876 and is buried beside his wife and child in Grenada's Yellow Fever Cemetery.
J. Augustine Signaigo, born in 1835 in Italy, founded the Grenada Sentinel in 1854. A poet, he wrote the libretto of a hit Civil War operetta, "The Vivandiere." He served as president of the Mississippi Press Association in 1869. He died in 1876 and is buried beside his wife and child in Grenada's Yellow Fever Cemetery.
On January 14, 1914, a small group of local women met to organize a study club for the cultural advancement of its members. In addition to its primary focus, the club soon adopted a series of civic projects, including many that offered financial support for public school programs, that had a dramatic impact on the development of the community. Among the projects was a 1939 campaign that resulted in the preservation of Holland’s opera house for use as a civic center. Through its activities, the club continues to reflect the goals and ideals of its founders.
Noted Texas journalist and editor. Began his career in Austin and Dallas. From 1920 to 1935 was with New York “Herald-Tribune”, where as city editor he trained many writers. Also was on staff of Philadelphia “Ledger”. He wrote “The Night Club Era”, “Mrs. Astor’s Horse”, 5 other books, many articles. Spent last years here.
Main defensive position on Yalobusha River line held by Gen. Pemberton in fall of 1862 to repel Gen. Grant, whose army of 25,000 was moving to attack Vicksburg.
First U.S. Army Division to achieve "Expert Infantry" recognition while training here at Camp McCain November, 1943 to July, 1944.
Distinguished World War II Service in European Theater Campaigns: 
Here at Barboursville lie the ruins of the family
home of James Barbour, Virginia's governor
during the War of 1812. As commander of
Virginia's militia forces, Barbour planned, organized, and directed the defense of Virginia
from January until December 1814. Known
for his oratorical skills and organizing talents,
he inspired his fellow Virginians to defend the
Commonwealth from relentless British incursions
in Hampton Roads and the Northern Neck
On a few occasions, he took command of the militia
while in the field. He later served U.S.
as Senator from Virginia and U.S. Secretary of War.
Established 1942 as a training facility for the United States Army during the Second World War and used until 1946. Named for Carroll Co. Miss. native, Major-General Henry Pinckney McCain (1861-1941).
Here lived Pauline Maloney, known as Lynchburg’s
“first lady of education.” A graduate of Howard University,
she worked in Lynchburg
public schools from 1937 to 1970, most notably
as a guidance counselor and administrator at
the all-black Dunbar High School.
During the
1970s she was elected the first black president
of both the Virginia School Boards Association
and the National School Boards Association
Southern Region. In 1977 Maloney became the
first woman rector of Norfolk State University.
She served as national president of The Links, Inc.,
civic organization of African American women,
and she founded the Lynchburg chapter in 1950.
