Florida, Lee County, Fort Myers
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Entry in Seminole Lodge Guest Book
—Harrie Monkhouse Guest
March 21-April 3, 1916
Have you ever dreamed a dream of Heaven?
Where the Garden of Eden Grows?
Well, come down with me to the Florida Coast
Where the Caloosahatchee flows
Come down with me to Seminole Lodge
Where grapefruit & orange bloom,
Where bananas & palms trees skirt the shore
Of the pool you swim in at noon
Come down with me & meet our dear Hosts,
In this Heaven of sunshine & haze,
And then you’ll know why on the Florida coast-
The birds brush their throats in mere praise-
The home was originally build for Edison’s good friends Ezra and Lillian Gilliland as their winter retreat. The Gilliland’s only enjoyed three years in Fort Myers, and sold the home to Ambrose McGregor in 1891. The McGregor family lived year-round in the house until 1902. The road that runs along this home was named McGregor Boulevard, in honor of Mr. McGregor, in 1914.
Edison purchased the home in 1906, and created a guest house for family and friends. This building houses the dining room, kitchen/pantry area, and servant’s quarters for the Estates.
Visitors such as Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone stayed for days, while Charles Lindbergh came for dinner. Many received reminders of Florida visit when mangoes, grapefruit, guava, and orange marmalade would arrive at their northern homes.
(Notable Buildings) Includes location, directions, 5 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
Entry in Seminole Lodge Guest Book—Harrie Monkhouse Guest
March 21-April 3, 1916
Have you ever dreamed a dream of Heaven?
Where the Garden of Eden Grows?
Well, come down with me to the Florida Coast
Where the Caloosahatchee flows
Come down with me to Seminole Lodge
Where grapefruit & orange bloom,
Where bananas & palms trees skirt the shore
Of the pool you swim in at noon
Come down with me & meet our dear Hosts,
In this Heaven of sunshine & haze,
And then you’ll know why on the Florida coast-
The birds brush their throats in mere praise-
The home was originally build for Edison’s good friends Ezra and Lillian Gilliland as their winter retreat. The Gilliland’s only enjoyed three years in Fort Myers, and sold the home to Ambrose McGregor in 1891. The McGregor family lived year-round in the house until 1902. The road that runs along this home was named McGregor Boulevard, in honor of Mr. McGregor, in 1914.
Edison purchased the home in 1906, and created a guest house for family and friends. This building houses the dining room, kitchen/pantry area, and servant’s quarters for the Estates.
Visitors such as Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone stayed for days, while Charles Lindbergh came for dinner. Many received reminders of Florida visit when mangoes, grapefruit, guava, and orange marmalade would arrive at their northern homes.
(Notable Buildings) Includes location, directions, 5 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
In 1909, a major project was undertaken to install a fire control system at the Edison estate. Water for the system was supplied from a well on the east side of the property (across McGregor Boulevard) and directed to three large tanks located on the west side of the property. From there, it was piped to five different locations via a 5-inch underground water main with 3-inch branch pipes.
The Moonlight Garden was designed in 1928 by Ellen Biddle Shipman, one of the first female’s landscape architects in America. She specialized in enclosed gardens, full of drift beds where flowers of beauty bloomed in cycles throughout the year. Shipman’s ideas matched what the Edison’s envisioned for their garden. Mina Edison was significant influential in modifying the plan to suit her own vision for a formal garden that created a casual, private area for family and guest to gather.
In his initial plans for the property, Edison included a laboratory for his Florida estate. Through he anticipated leisure time, he also needed a place to pursue inventing. Of the many experiments he worked on in this laboratory, one focused on a form of underwater telegraphy. Edison said that he would be:
Edison created a large domestic support area for the Estate on the east side of McGregor Boulevard. Storage buildings, equipment, a truck garden, and even a horse were located there. One the west side, retaining and expanding the Caretaker’s House on the northern end of the main Estate provided a like space, though on a smaller scale. A hog wire “fence separated the domestic support area in the early years. Wheelbarrows, wagons, ladders, rakes, and garden tools were often visible.
Charlotte was not only an important commercial port, but it was also a renowned recreational area. Three railroads and an electric trolley brought countless passengers to the lakeshore. People came from as far away as Pittsburgh and Oswego. 
Masonic Lodge of President
Libertas et Patria
