filament Edison discovered Fort Myers, Florida. Following the trail of bamboo up the Caloosahatchee River, Edison and his friend Ezra Gilliland fell in love with the sleepy little village. Together they purchased land far from the bustling center of town, 1- miles down a cattle trail. Their two homes were built on the riverfront property, mirror images of each other, plus a laboratory so that Edison could have "working vacations." The lumber for the entire project was pre-cut in Maine and shipped to Fort Myers by schooner. The Gillilands were also responsible for introducing Edison to his second wife, Mina Miller. The Edisons were married in 1886 and honeymooned in Fort Myers at the Keystone Hotel while waiting for the home, now named Seminole Lodge, to be completed. Thomas and Mina also had three children: Madeleine, born in 1888, Charles, 1890, and Theodore, 1898. Unfortunately, Edison and Gilliland had a falling out and for 14 years Edison did not come back to his Florida home. By 1906, however, Edison had purchased the Gilliland home, made renovations to both sites and again began spending his winters at Seminole Lodge until his death in 1931. Thomas Edison also had a hand in starting the "movies." His ideas, combined with George Eastman's development of photographic film, eventually evolved into the multi-billion dollar motion picture industry of today. At first, however, the movies were crude, silent and only about 40 to 80 seconds long. An Edi...
