One of Fort Myers most famous residents proposed marriage in a very unique way.
In 1886, Thomas Edison proposed to Mina Miller by tapping a proposal in Morse code onto her palm while they were in New Hampshire. She tapped back, “yes.”
It took place while they were visiting the White Mountains. Edison, who suffered hearing loss, taught Miller the code to communicate privately. The couple married shortly after on Feb. 24, 1886, at her family home in Oak Place, Akron, Ohio.
The proposal followed a courtship that mostly took place in Chautauqua, New York, but included visits to the Alexandria Bay on the St. Lawrence River.
Edison was married twice
First he was with Mary Stilwell from 1871 until her death in 1884. The couple had three children and then to Mina Miller from 1886 until his death in 1931, with whom he had another three children.
Edison and Miller in Southwest Florida
Edison first visited Fort Myers in 1885, buying 13 acres along the Caloosahatchee River for a winter retreat, known as Seminole Lodge, where he and Miller spent winters until he died.
The estate served was not just a home, but his laboratory for experiments; like testing rubber-producing plants. The estate also famously featured Florida’s first swimming pool.
The estate is now a museum featuring mostly original furnishings and extensive gardens.
In 1947, Miller deeded the estate to the city of Fort Myers.
Edison Ford Winter Estates is a National Register Historic Site and is one of the most visited historic home sites in America.
As for the pool, it was built in 1910. The 50′ x 20′ swimming pool is believed to have been constructed using Edison Portland Cement. In a 1928 remodel, the pool house with changing rooms and Tea House were added. Edison had a concrete cistern built to provide large amounts of potable water for domestic use in 1919.
The Ford part
At the invitation of the Edisons, Henry and Clara Ford, along with their son Edsel, visited Fort Myers in 1914.
It is said that the couple enjoyed Fort Myers so much that they purchased the adjacent home just a couple of years later.
The Ford’s sold the estate to the City of Fort Myers in the late 1980s. The Ford Winter Estate was opened to the public in 1990.
Sources: The News-Press, Naples Daily News, Wikipedia and Edison and Ford Winter Estates.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press. Reporting by Compiled by B.D. Green, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Fort Myers News-Press
