Thomas Edison National Historical Park

This is the audio-only described version of the park's brochure. This two-sided color brochure talks about the life and career of Thomas Alva Edison.  On one side, titled Thomas Edison,  a section describes his West Orange laboratory complex - his greatest invention. The other section is a timeline highlighting his inventive career from his birth in 1847 to the establishment of Thomas Edison National Historical Park.

The opposite side of the brochure, titled the Edisons at Glenmont, covers Edison personal life from the marriage of his second wife until his death.  The story is told through modern and historic black and white photos. There is also a brief description of the park museum and archival collection.

At the bottom of this page is a section about planning your visit, which maps of the laboratory complex, Glenmont estate and the West Orange area.

Photo description: In the upper left corner, superimposed on a modern day color photo of the laboratory complex,  under the title Thomas Edison, is a black and white historic portrait of Edison at about the age of 40. His body is facing the right, his head is turned slightly to the left and he is looking straight ahead. He is wearing a dark three piece suit with a white shirt and bow tie.  The photo fades into the background just below the shoulders.

Photo source: NPS / Melinda Sloate Schmitt

Text: Thomas A. Edison personified the age of invention, America’s new frontier in the late 1800s. Though he was best known for the phonograph and incandescent lamp, perhaps Edison’s greatest invention was a new way to invent: the industrial research and development laboratory. Today his largest lab complex is preserved at Thomas Edison National Historical Park. With his teams of scientists and technicians, he perfected his phonograph and developed motion pictures, a nickel-iron-alkaline storage battery, and many other devices and technologies. Edison earned 1,093 U.S. patents in his lifetime, most for inventions that came from here.

Photo description: The modern color photo of the Edison Labs covers the top half of the Thomas Edison side of the brochure.

In the background, spreading the width of the picture, is a three story red brick building. Most visible is the second floor. Each floor is lined with large windows trimmed in green. In the foreground to the right, is the backside of a red wooden building with the visible roof sloping to the left.

In the foreground on the left is a one story red brick building, with four visible chimneys. The building is perpendicular to the background building.

All three buildings appear close together.

Source: NPS / Melinda Sloate Schmitt

Text: Ten times the size of the Menlo Park lab where Edison achieved early fame, the West Orange complex looked like a small college campus. A three-story building held a research library, machine shops for building models, space for experiments and various research projects, and Edison’s office. Across from the main building were separate labs for chemistry, physics, and metallurgy. Though Edison was the guiding force behind every project, a spirit of camaraderie prevailed among the 100 or so employees. Small teams worked independently on aspects of projects while Edison made the rounds daily to fine-tune, offering inspired ”guesses” that usually turned out to be right. He spent most of his time at the labs, often working overnight and indulging in quick naps in his library.

Edison the inventor was also a shrewd entrepreneur who established dozens of companies during his career. ”I always invented to obtain money to go on inventing,” he said. The business side of his operation centered on the phonograph. His factories in West Orange produced a variety of cylinder and disc phonographs and recordings, plus a business phonograph for office dictation. He introduced motion pictures, and manufactured cameras, projectors, and films. In the Black Maria, the world’s first movie studio, his staff filmed everything from ballet to boxing. The phonograph and film businesses capitalized on consumer demand for new forms of entertainment.

Well into old age Edison was trying new things: a technique for poured concrete buildings, a fluoroscope to view x-ray images, methods for manufacturing large quantities of chemicals, huge machines for extracting iron from ore and for manufacturing cement. His final search was for a domestic source of rubber. Thomas Edison died in 1931. The West Orange labs soon closed, but reopened as a museum in 1948. Edison National Historic Site was established in 1962; in 2009 it became Thomas Edison National Historical Park. The park is a memorial to the man and a place where you can discover the roots of American inspiration and innovation.

Thomas Alva Edison is born in Milan, Ohio, February 11. Educated mostly at home by his mother.

Photo description: Black and white photo of Thomas Edison at about 14 years of age posing for a portrait. He is wearing a tight fitting, dark colored cap with a brim, light colored scarf around his neck and a dark jacket. He appears to have a slight smile.

Source: NPS / Thomas Edison National Historical Park

Text: Family moves to Port Huron, Mich. Thomas works as a newsboy on Grand Trunk Railroad. Suffers permanent hearing loss. 

Itinerant telegrapher in Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Memphis, and Louisville. Works for Western Union in Boston. Invents improved telegraph equipment.

Black and white photo of Thomas Edison's Vote Recorder.  The table top machine is made of a dark metal with gears and levers. It was intended for legislative groups such as Congress to cast votes.  The legislator moved a lever for a Yes or No vote.  Once everyone voted the results could be printed and shared.  

Source: National Park Service / Thomas Edison National Historical Park

Text: Awarded his first patent for legislative vote recorder. Decides to become full-time inventor.

Invents commercially successful stock ticker. Income finances workshop in Newark, New Jersey, where Edison begins work on automatic telegraphy.

Marries Mary Stilwell, one of his employees, on Christmas Day.

Invents quadruplex telegraph device that sends four messages simultaneously along a single line. Pursues increased message capacity.

An 1870 line drawing advertisement for Edison's Electric Pen and Press.  At the top of the square shaped advertisement it reads: Edison's Electric Pen and Press. Under the title is the number 5000 followed by text, Quote "copies from a single writing."

Under the text is a drawing.  In the lower right of the advertisement is a hand holding a pencil-like device with a motor attached where the eraser might be.  The motor is about the size of a ring box.  The motor has a wire running from it to two connected cylinders which are sitting on a stand to the left.  The cylinders represent the battery.

Source: National Park Service / Thomas Edison National Historical Park

Text: Invents and markets electric pen, an early document duplication system.

Photo description: Historic black and white photo of the laboratory building and workers, circa 1880.  The centerpiece of the photo is a two story building. The front and right sides of the building are seen.  On the side, each floor has seven windows in a row. Between the fifth and sixth windows on the first floor is a small, white shed-like structure. The front of the building has a door flanked by two windows on either side.  The second floor has two windows and there is a circular window at the peak where the two sides of the roof meet. There are two chimneys on the right side of the roof and a partial view of a chimney stack on the left side of the roof. The front has a porch on each floor.  On the first floor porch there are seven of Thomas Edison's workers standing on or near the porch.  Seven workers are standing on the second floor porch. Behind the main building is a small one story building.

Source: National Park Service / THOMAS EDISON NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK

Text: Builds laboratory at Menlo Park, New Jersey, world’s first industrial research facility incorporating several fields of science and technology.

This color photograph is of Thomas Edison's first and original 1877 phonograph. The phonograph sits on a black plate of metal about 15 inches long and 10 inches wide. On top of the plate is a solid brass cylinder on its side about the size of a coffee can. Attached perpendicular to the cylinder are two smaller metal tubes used to funnel the sound to be recorded or played back. A crank with a wooden handle used to turn the phonograph goes through the center of the solid cylinder. 

Source: National Park Service / Darryl Herring

Text: Building on experiments to improve Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone, invents ”talking machine”—the phonograph. First recording is Edison’s recital of ”Mary had a little lamb.” Hailed as the ”Wizard of Menlo Park.”

There are two images in this color photograph. Edison’s 1879 lamp sketch to the left and a reproduction lamp on the right. Handwritten at the top of the sketch is, quote “Experiment No. 3.” The outline of the bulb with a point on top is in the center of the sketch. Within the center of the bulb are two loops representing the filament. On the top third of the bulb is a line with a small loop, which looks like a needle piercing the bulb, with the eye of the needle and thread on the outside of the bulb. Midway down the bulb are two handwritten words too small to read. The filament is attached to a tube within the neck of the bulb. A squiggly line is drawn on either side of the tube within the neck. It goes on either side and across the front of the tube.

The image to the right is a replica of the original light bulb. The bulb is clear with a point on top. The horseshoe-shaped filament can be seen through the bulb. The bulb fits into a wooden pedestal with two brass knobs, located on either side of the pedestal’s round base. Around the perimeter of the base is a brass plaque with wording too small to read.

Source: Collection of the Henry Ford

Text: Using carbon filaments in a glass-enclosed vacuum, produces practical incandescent light powered by electric generator. Demonstrates lighting system New Year’s Eve at Menlo Park.

Experiments with magnetic gold ore separation. Observes transfer of electrons between electrodes within a glass globe—the ”Edison Effect”—which eventually leads to development of vacuum tubes used in radio and television.

Moves home and office to New York City. Begins construction of first permanent central power station on Pearl Street in Lower Manhattan, which opens in September 1882.

Mary Stilwell Edison dies.

Historic black and white portrait photograph of Thomas Edison's wife Mina Miller.  The photograph was taken around the time of her wedding to Edison. In the portrait, Mina is facing forward with her face and gaze angled outwards and toward the left. She has dark hair in a loose bun on the top of her head.  She has dark eyebrows and dark eyes and wears a string of pearls around her neck and a light colored gauze and lace top on with a scooped neckline.  

Source: National Park Service / Thomas Edison National Park

Text: Edison marries Mina Miller. Moves to Glenmont estate in West Orange, New Jersey.

Opens new lab complex in West Orange. Experiments with ore separation, shifting focus from gold to iron ore. Spurred by rivals’ invention of graphophone, resumes work on perfecting his phonograph. Builds Edison Phonograph Works near lab complex. Begins work on kinetograph, a motion picture camera, and kinetoscope, a boxlike device for viewing motion pictures through a peephole.

Establishes Edison General Electric Company, which merges with the Thomson Houston Electric Company in 1892 to form General Electric.

Demonstrates kinetoscope to the public for the first time.

”Black Maria” at West Orange labs becomes world’s first motion picture studio.

Sells General Electric stock to finance ore milling operation, thus exiting electrical industry by 1897. Ore milling is ultimately a commercial failure. ”Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze” becomes first copyrighted motion picture.

Introduces Edison Home Phonograph, affordable and easy to operate. Begins experimenting with x-rays.

Color photo of an Edison Portland cement bag from the early nineteen-hundreds. It is a canvas bag shaped like a rectangle. It is taller than it is wider. The background is light color with a large circle in the center of the bag. The circle is divided into four colors, the top is blue, next is yellow, then green and the bottom is red. In the circle it reads, “Edison Portland Cement Company, New Village, New Jersey.” Under the circle is the signature of Thomas A Edison and the word Trade Mark.

Source: National Park Service / JANE S. HANNA

Text: Establishes Edison Portland Cement Company; uses waste rock and ore milling technology to produce cement, an increasingly popular building material.

Color photograph showing an Edison cylinder record and the record case. The left image is a cardboard cylinder case about five inches tall with a light colored background and brown base. The words which alternate between red and gold say “Edison Gold Moulded Records, Echo all over the world.” Laying on its side is a hollow cylinder tube about five inches tall made of an early form of plastic. It is dark in color. Around the rim of the cylinder facing the camera are words which are too small to read, but would have indicated the musician and the name of the song.

Source: National Park Service / JANE S. HANNA

Text: Introduces “Gold Moulded” black wax cylinder, made by a molding process that improves sound quality, yields more recordings, and lowers costs.

New company manufactures phonographs for office dictation, later known as the Ediphone and the Voice writer. Introduces Amberol cylinder recordings that play for four minutes rather than two. With other film producers, forms company to control patents and fight competitors.

Image description: Color photograph of two of Edison's nickel iron alkaline storage batteries from around 1910. The battery to the left is rectangular in shape about fifteen inches high, six inches wide and three inches deep. The battery is made of a silver metal. On the left side of the battery are two knobs. One near the bottom and the other near the top. The top of the battery has a circular knob in the center about two inches in diameter with a metal rod on either side of the knob. All three pieces stand about an inch high.

The battery on the right is of the same size and dimension, but has half of the front cut away to expose the four metal plates inside the battery.

Photo caption: Nickel iron alkaline storage battery, 1910.

Source: National Park Service / THOMAS EDISON NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK

Text: After 10 years of experimentation, introduces nickel iron alkaline storage battery for electric automobiles. With demise of electric cars, battery eventually used in other industrial applications. Demonstrates kinetophone, a motion picture projector synchronized with a phonograph to produce sound films.

Organizes Thomas A. Edison, Incorporated to consolidate most of his companies.

Introduces Home Projecting Kinetoscope to show films in homes, schools, and churches. Introduces Diamond Disc, a vertical cut groove disc record made of Condensite (a plastic).

Fire damages or destroys 13 factory buildings, laboratory buildings are spared. Edison vows to rebuild, resumes limited production within one month.

Named chairman of Naval Consulting Board, advisory group that evaluates civilian inventions for military application.

Sells motion picture business.

Postwar economic downturn and poor sales result in huge layoffs at Edison factories and dismissals of many managers and office workers.

Begins search for domestic source of rubber that can be grown and processed quickly. Eventually settles on goldenrod and continues experiments for the rest of his life. Menlo Park lab recreated at Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.

Awarded Congressional Medal, one of the highest civilian honors.

Light’s Golden Jubilee celebrates 50th anniversary of electric lighting. Ceases manufacture of entertainment phonographs.

Dies October 18. Lights dimmed nationwide for one minute on the day of his funeral.

Edison Company begins conveying West Orange property to National Park Service.

Edison National Historic Site established to preserve lab complex, Glenmont, and historical collection.

Congress redesignates site as Thomas Edison National Historical Park.

Photo descriptionThere are two color photographs side by side. To the left is a picture of an electric siphonator. The siphonator is half coffee pot half tea pot. It is square in shape made of copper. It is in an art deco design. The main square siphonator has two black handles on either side in the shape of ears. The lid is on top of the siphonator and has a black square knob for the handle of the lid. On the bottom third of the siphonator are two spickets. Both have black levers to dispense the coffee or tea. The entire siphonator sits on a copper base shaped like a pyramid with a flat top.

Next to the siphonator is an advertisement about the Edicraft line of products and what you could make with the appliances. At the top of the advertisement is a small profile picture of Thomas Edison. Under his portrait is the word Edicraft and under that the headings, “Table Cookery - Newest and smartest of home arts...” 

There are three photos of Edicraft appliances, a toaster, a waffle maker and asandwich maker. Each has a description which is printed to small to read. The toaster is a rectangular box made of metal placed on the narrow side which opens at the top. You put the toast inside and close the box. The toaster is shown open. The waffle maker is open with a waffle inside. The appliance produces a six sided waffle. The sandwich maker is a fore-runner of today's panini maker. The lid closes with a hinge instead of pressing straight down on the sandwich. 

At the bottom of the advertisement is the word Edicraft and there is also a coupon to small to read at the very bottom of the ad.

Photo caption: In the nineteen twenties, the Edicraft division of Thomas A. Edison, Incorporated began making coffeemakers (above), waffle irons, sandwich grills, and toasters. These ”electric servants”, a popular term for kitchen appliances, fit in with notions of modern American domestic life. Sales of the pricey gadgets dropped during the Great Depression. Edicraft ceased production in 1934.

Sources: COLLECTION OF THE HENRY FORD and  National Park Service / THOMAS EDISON NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK

IMAGE description: The top half of this side of the brochure is covered with a modern color photograph of the exterior front facade of the Edison home at Glenmont. It is a 29 room Queen Anne style mansion with three stories, an attic and basement. It is painted a reddish color which matches the brick work on the first floor of the house. The second and third floors are made of wood with different patterns. There are dark green awnings on all of the windows and a portico covered with green bushes. On the left side of the house you can see a large glass enclosed conservatory. Trees in fall colors surround the house. 

Source: National Park Service / Jane S. Hanna

Text: In 1886 Thomas Edison married Mina Miller, the 20-year-old daughter of a wealthy Midwestern manufacturer. According to family lore, Edison gave his fiancée the choice of a townhouse in New York City or a home in the country. They soon settled on the Glenmont estate in Llewellyn Park, a fashionable neighborhood that advertised ”Country Homes for City People.”

The 29-room red brick and wood mansion was built in 1880 by an office clerk who spared no expense, including funds embezzled from his firm. The architect was Henry Hudson Holly, who also designed Edison’s nearby lab complex. The exterior of the house exhibits the hallmarks of the American Queen Anne style, which Holly introduced to the nation, asymmetrical facade, high-pitched gables, rooftop balcony, wraparound porch, and unified color. Interior elements include stained glass windows, chandeliers, wainscoting, and hand-painted ceilings. Expansive grounds, a greenhouse and potting shed, barn and stables, and poured-concrete garage complete the estate. 

Glenmont was very much Mina’s domain; in fact Thomas sold the property to her in 1891 to avoid possible seizure by creditors. Mina referred to herself as a “Home Executive” and took those duties very seriously. She managed money, oversaw the servants, and raised the couple’s three children, Madeleine, Charles, and Theodore and Edison’s three children from his first marriage, Marion, Thomas Jr., and William. 

Because Edison spent most of his time at the labs, Mina represented him in the community and by hosting social events at Glenmont. Guests included Orville Wright, Helen Keller, the King of Siam, and Edison’s friend Henry Ford. Products of Edison’s labs and factories, phonographs, kinetoscopes, and of course electric lights, were displayed throughout the rooms, as were Edison’s many honorary gifts and awards. 

After Thomas died in 1931, Mina married again and lived at Glenmont until her death in 1947. Mina and Thomas are buried side by side in a simple plot behind their home.

This is a black and white historic photo of Mina Edison holding a baby in her lap, circa 1888. The photo is a vertical oval, showing Mina from the waist up. The baby is dressed in a long flowing light colored gown and appears to be sleeping. Mina is wearing a long sleeve blouse with patterned large checks and a high collar. She is looking strait ahead with a soft smile on her face.

Source: National Park Service / THOMAS EDISON NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK

This is a black and white historic photo taken in 1907. A young Theodore Edison is sitting at the piano in the back den of Glenmont with his piano teacher Lucy Bogue looking over his shoulder. Miss Bogue is wearing a long dark skirt and a light long sleeve blouse. She has a large brimmed hat covered with flowers on her head. Theodore is seated at the piano with both hands on the keys, while looking at the sheet music on the piano. He is sitting in a chair with his ankles crossed and feet on the piano's pedals. Wood paneled walls and built in glass front cabinets are in the background.

Source: National Park Service / THOMAS EDISON NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK

This is a black and white historic photo of Mina and Thomas Edison from 1908. It is an oval photo with Mina on the left and Thomas on the right. Mina is about 43 years old and Thomas is 61. The background of the photo is a wall of ivy. Mina is wearing a large brimmed hat decorated with flowers. Thomas is wearing a dark brimmed hat, a dark suit with a light shirt and bow tie. The photo shows their faces and shoulders. Both are looking straight ahead with slight, closed mouthed smiles.

Source: National Park Service / THOMAS EDISON NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK

This is a black and white historic photo from 1906 which includes five people, from left to right. A standing female wearing a long dress, Mina sitting on step wearing a long dress, a small child sitting one step up from Mina, a male sitting on the top step and Thomas Edison standing next to the stair railing, with his right hand on the railing post and his left hand at his pocket. He is wearing a light color suit with vest.

Source: National Park Service / THOMAS EDISON NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK

This is a color photograph of a stained glass window inside the Edison home. The stained glass image depicts Penelope, from Greek mythology, waiting for Ulysses to return from the Trojan war. Penelope is leaning against what may be a marble pillar with her right arm resting on a a short wall with a sink or basin in front. She has her right foot up on a single step. She is wearing a long light colored dress with a multi-colored piece of fabric wrapped from the waist down. She is wearing sandals and also has a short veil running down to her shoulders, without covering her face.  In the background are rolls of different color fabric.

Photo caption: A large stained-glass window depicts Penelope awaiting Ulysses’ return from the Trojan war. This subject from Greek mythology fit the Victorian notion of a woman’s role as homemaker and faithful wife.

Source: National Park Service / THOMAS EDISON NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK

This black and white historic photo was taken in 1917. Thomas Edison is seated on a rustic chair made of twigs on the front lawn of his Glenmont home. His left leg is crossed over his right. He is holding an open book in his left hand and is wearing a straw hat with a brim and a three piece suit with a tie. He is about 70 years old. The mansion is in the background, surrounded by trees and bushes, with a large mowed lawn.  

Source: National Park Service / THOMAS EDISON NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK

Photo description: This is a black and white historic photograph of Thomas and his wife Mina Miller Edison in 1927. They are both standing, facing to the left in front of a table decorated with a large birthday cake and two stacks of china plates. Thomas is cutting the cake while Mina looks on with a smile. Thomas is about 80 years old, with white hair, smartly dressed in a tuxedo with a boutonniere pinned to his left lapel. Mina is about 62 year old. She is wearing a lace dress, holding what appears to be flowers.

Source: National Park Service / THOMAS EDISON NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK

Begin your visit at the Laboratory Complex Visitor Center, which offers orientation information. Call ahead or check the park website for hours and days of operation and special events. Reservations are required for groups. The Laboratory Complex tour is self-guiding. You can see the 1877 tinfoil phonograph, the kinetoscope, and many more original inventions. The Edison Home at Glenmont offers a guided tour; the estate grounds are self-guiding

Thomas Edison National Historical Park is one of over 390 parks in the National Park System. To learn more about national parks visit www.nps.gov.

Thomas Edison National Historical Park; 211 Main St.; West Orange, NJ 07052; 973-736-0550; www.nps.gov/edis

The Laboratory Complex map shows all of the buildings and features located with the park. The map is oriented with north to the bottom. Main Street runs from the bottom left to the top right of the map. The visitor center and park entrance are indicated to the left of Main Street. The visitor parking lot is indicated on the right side of Main Street. The name of each of the buildings is noted on the map and include the Chemistry, Main and Metallurgical Laboratories, Valuts 8, 11, 12 and 33 and Black Maria. 

Source: NPS

The Glenmont Estate map shows all of the buildings and features located on the 15 acre estate, which is located within the private residential community of Llewellyn Park. The map is oriented with north to the right. 

Honeysuckle Avenue, the one road through the estate runs from the bottom left to the top right of the map. The Garage and skating pond are to the left of Honeysuckle Avenue and the barn is to the right as you enter from Glen Avenue. The visitor parking area is located on the right side, adjacent to the Gardener's Cottage, Greenhouse and Potting Shed.

The Edison Home is located toward the upper left side of the map, on the left of Honeysuckle Avenue, with the Edison Grave site, Pump House and Hose House nearby. 

Arrows on the roadways indicate the entrance and exit from the estate. Visitors can enter the park from Glenn Avenue onto Honeysuckle road and exit by turning onto Park Way. 

Source: National Park Service

Map descriptionThe West Orange area map shows the location of the Laboratory Complex where the park visitor center is located, and the Glenmont Estate, on a township street map. The map is oriented with north at the top. The driving route from the visitor center to the Glenmont Estate is highlighted with arrows. Visitors can enter the park from Glenn Avenue onto Honeysuckle road and exit by turning onto Park Way.

Source: National Park Service

Directions by Car. From New Jersey Turnpike: Exit 15W to I-280. From Garden State Parkway: Exit 145 to I-280. From I-280 westbound: Exit 10. Turn right on Northfield Ave. Left on Main Street. Go about 0.75 miles to parking on left and Laboratory Complex on right. From I-280 eastbound: Exit 9. Turn left at end of ramp. At second light, left on Main Street Go about 0.5 mile to parking.

Public Transportation. New Jersey Transit: take bus #21, see also w w w.n j transit.com. Local bus #21 stops in the vicinity, but is approximately a mile from the park.