Audio
Glenmont's Link to the Labs (9)
Transcript
Why did Edison need such a big house? A quick reason is because Mina was used to a nice home and Edison offered it to her as a wedding gift in 1886, but it was probably Mina who saw the real need for a large beautiful home to help with business; to be an extension of the laboratories. Nowadays, when businessmen or women want to network, rub elbows, or perhaps seal a deal, they'd might do it at the country club or perhaps play a round of golf. Well, Edison didn't play golf and he didn't like to have drinks at the country club, so Mina brought the clients and dignitaries to him. When guests visited Thomas Edison, they usually took a tour of the laboratory or manufacturing plant and at some point during the visit went to Glenmont. When the King of Siam came to visit it was for tea, when Edison received the Congressional Medal it was for dinner, and when some recording artists come it was to perform. The guests’ list is endless: Helen Keller, Madam Montessori, Henry Ford, and Orville Wright just to name a few. But did you also know that the labs and Glenmont were physically connected? Thomas Edison had the house wired for electricity in 1887. The original plan was to have a generator in the stable to create the electricity, but by early December of ’87 it was decided to run electrical wires from the laboratory to Glenmont. Edison got permission from the Llewellyn Park committee of managers to run the wires underground from the labs to Glenmont. On December 23, 1887, Charles Batchelor, an Edison mucker wrote, “Edison’s house was lit up for the first time tonight from the laboratory.”
Description
With his laboratory only minutes away, it seemed natural the two would be linked. Learn more about the nature of that connection, as well as one reason why the Edisons needed a large home.
Credit
NPS
Date Created
04/12/2023
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