Thursday, September 1, 2011

Henry Ford's Winter Retreat in Fort Myers

Right next door to Thomas Edison's winter retreat, Seminole Lodge, is Henry Ford's winter home called The Mangoes - due to the many mango trees on the property.

Henry Ford first came to Fort Myers in 1914 at the invitation of his close friend Thomas Edison.  He purchased the property in 1916 for $20,000.

You can pose with a statue of Henry Ford at the back of the house.  He's a little bit taller than I am!

An avenue of palm trees lead from the house to the Caloosahatchee River.

The living room was used, on occasion, for one of Ford's favorite pastimes - square dancing.

The living room leads to the dining room and the stairs to the second floor family bedrooms and study.  (Unfortunately, we couldn't see the second floor.)


I loved the window seat at one end of the dining room.

The modern 20th century kitchen.

There are three bedrooms on the ground floor.  This one belonged to the maid.

Ford's secretary slept here and, perhaps, did a little work too.

Ford's guests were made comfortable in this room.

The last time Henry Ford enjoyed this spacious veranda was in 1934.  He finally sold the property in 1945 to a local Fort Myers resident.

We finished up our tour in the museum and this 1916 Model-T Touring Car.

Next week I'll show you some our shopping excursions and the purchases I made while in Fort Myers.


 

4 comments:

  1. I love touring old homes or homes of famous people. You always learn things you didn't know and get to see some real treasures in those homes.
    Thanks for sharing!

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  2. How interesting! Somehow I expected Henry Ford's getaway place to be a lot more imposing than this? But it's really a lovely home. I wouldn't mind that modern 20th century kitchen at all! It looked like it would be really charming to me. And I was thrilled to see that I have the same wicker chair and ottoman set that's roped off on the porch. *winks* Vanna

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  3. Hi Candy! OH, another wonderful home to tour! It's really lovely and I love the pretty quilts and that hoosier cabinet in the kitchen - I would love to have one! :)
    Thanks for popping in to see me.
    be a sweetie,
    Shelia ;)

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  4. Love the light fixture in the guest room! And I sure wouldn't mind having a nice wide veranda, either. Thanks for sharing!

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