Ford’s The Mangoes

During our visit to the Edison and Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers, we toured The Mangoes, the winter home of Henry and Clara Ford.  In 1916, Ford purchased the property next to Thomas Edison’s Seminole Lodge so that he and his wife could spend their winters close to their dear friends. Although Ford had become one of the wealthiest and most influential men in America, he chose a home that reflected simplicity and comfort rather than extravagance.

Ford named the house The Mangoes after the many tropical fruit trees growing on the property. Completed in 1911 and purchased by Ford five years later, the residence became a gathering place for family and friends. Henry and Clara often spent their days with Thomas and Mina Edison, enjoying dinners together, boating on the Caloosahatchee River, and exchanging ideas. Their friendship lasted for more than three decades and was one of the most enduring relationships in American industrial history.

One of the more touching stories about the two men occurred when Edison was approaching the end of his life. Ford, who regarded Edison as both mentor and friend, treasured their relationship deeply. According to family tradition, after Edison’s death in 1931, Ford asked Charles Edison to seal a test tube containing what was said to be his father’s final breath. That tube remains on display today at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, a testament to the affection and admiration Ford held for the man who had encouraged his early work on the automobile.

Touring these properties, it was easy to imagine the conversations that took place here between two men whose inventions transformed modern life.  Though their accomplishments changed the world, their homes in Fort Myers reveal another side of their lives.  Here we witnessed lives marked by friendship, family, and the simple pleasures of winter days spent together.