FORT MYERS, Fla. — Back in 1885, Thomas Edison was one of the original snowbirds after building a winter estate on Florida's southwest coast.
His home, known as the Seminole lodge, became a winter getaway not just for Edison, but also to two other prolific inventors, Harvey Firestone and Henry Ford.
WATCH: Fort Myers museum is home to various inventions and artifacts by 3 innovators
Breanna Alexander is the marketing director at the Edison and Ford Estates in Fort Myers and said the three were very close friends.
"They were like three musketeers, working together to continue to research and invent," Alexander said. "Harvey Firestone was into rubber and tires and of course, that meshes greatly with Henry Ford and Edison being the seasoned inventor."
The three men were such good friends, some may have even considered calling them the original geek squad.
These inventors changed the course of history, but it was Edison's wife, Mina, who froze their legacy in time in the state. The Edison's estate opened to the public in November 1947 and became one of Florida's most sought out attractions.
"Mina deeded her side of the property, the Edison estate, to the city of Fort Myers for only $1, and she really wanted it to be exactly what it is today," Alexander explained.
Mina Edison bought 13 acres of property from a friend for $2,750. Her dollar helped in her mission to preserve his work and their life together, which consisted of the main house, guest house and caretaker's home.
"All the furnishings in the house are original in Edison's main house and Edison's guest house," said Alexander. "So, we have all the original bedding and furnishings that he had when he was here. All paper products we do keep inside to preserve from the Florida heat, of course."
Ford initially stayed in Thomas Edison's guest house and then later bought property next door. Ford, Firestone and Edison were always collaborating.
"Ford only spent about two weeks out of the year here, whereas Thomas Edison would spend two to four months," Alexander said. "So, he really treated this as the entire winter season, whereas Henry Ford only really came to visit."
Alexander told us that Thomas wasn't the only Edison that loved to create.
"So, the moonlight garden, I would say was Mina Edison's baby on the estate," she said. "This is really what she put her all into."
The moonlight garden was built in 1928 by one of the first female architects Ellen Biddle Shipman.
"This moonlight garden reflects the moonlight at night, really making the space come alive," exclaimed Alexander.
Like many inventors, having enough workspace kept their love for innovation going. The botanic laboratory across the street is now cemented in history.
"One thing is that the laboratory that we have is the only botanical research lab that Thomas Edison had at all," according to Alexander.
Edison's botanic research lab is now a designated national historic chemical landmark by American Chemical Society. It's the only site in Florida to receive the title.
"Everything in here is original to Thomas Edison," Alexander told WPTV. "Of course, we have things more on a displayed way, but everything in here Edison used and touched himself."
It was created, because Ford and Firestone were concerned about America's dependence on foreign rubber sources. It would be Edison's last project before he passed away
"Henry Ford and Firestone did try to keep the corporation alive for a bit there," said Alexander, "but I think with the passing of Edison, neither one of them felt as connected to the project as they were when Edison was alive."
Now, almost a century later, that connection lives again. Engrained in every beam, every fiber of the lodge, now preserving a legacy as bright as Edison's bulb.
