During our little family vacation to Fort Myers we made a stop at the Edison & Ford Winter Estates. This is one of those vacation spots that is probably more for the parents than the kids. At least my kids weren’t too interested in a bit of a history lesson while on vacation but I was just too intrigued by this place not to stop. Plus I’m sure you can guess, they had a pressed penny machine.

What exactly is this place, well it’s the actual winter homes for Thomas Edison (yes that Thomas Edison) and Henry Ford. Edison build his winter home in 1886 along with a second home for a friend/partner and a laboratory. In 1916 Henry Ford purchased the estate next door called “The Mangoes” in order to spend more time with his friend and mentor Thomas Edison. The two vacationed here until Edison’s death in 1931.

This is quite a sprawling property. When you arrive there is a parking lot that first brings you to the gift shop and museum where you can purchase your admission tickets. Inside the museum is a plethora of artifacts and details about both Thomas Edison and Henry Ford’s life, careers and innovations. One of them being Thomas Edison’s 1916 Ford Model T touring car.

In a separate building from the museum is the Edison Botanic Research Laboratory. In 1927 Edison, Ford and Harvey Firestone formed the research corporation and the lab was build in 1928. The lab was designed with one purpose in mind, to find a natural source of rubber that could be grown in the United States. Divided into six sections, parts of the laboratory operated similar to an assembly line, with critical tasks being performed in each area.

With the museums completed, we had to cross the street over the second part of the property where the winter homes were located. The landscaping was gorgeous, and well kept. There were pathways that allowed you to explore the entire property including Edison’s personal office, outdoor pool area and other maintenance buildings.

The first home we visited was Thomas Edison’s. It’s two buildings connected by a covered pathway. Visitors are not allowed inside the buildings as they are fully furnished and filled with historic artifacts. But the windows and doorways are open so you can peek inside.

A short walk away is the Henry Ford estate. It was a beautiful look two story home, with a huge porch on the front facing the water. Nearby was a garage that Henry Ford used to house and maintain his personal vehicles, but is now setup like a small automotive museum.

Once we had finished checking out the entire estate we headed back across the street, past the gift shop and just before the parking lot was a covered restrooms area. This is where I found the pressed penny machine hiding. I was a bit worried during our visit as I couldn’t find it in the gift shop, museum or any of the estate buildings and thought maybe it had been removed. Thankfully I was wrong.

It was a nice well maintained CTM group machine. The vinyl wrapping on the machine looked great and I had no issues with pressing my coins.

The penny designs included images of Thomas Edison, a Ford Model-T car, and a few of Edison’s famous inventions including the Lightbulb and Photograph.

I really enjoyed the Edison & Ford Winter Estates, probably more than I initially thought I would. My original plan was to just stop by and press the pennies. However I’m glad we decided to purchase tickets and enjoy the afternoon exploring this amazing property. Keep on Pressing!

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