WINTER PARK, Fla. – If you’ve ever wanted to live in a historic home now might be your opportunity — the former home of Thomas Edison’s youngest son, Ted is back on the market.
Current owners of the Harris-Edison house, Sam and Christine Hines, said it wasn’t always the Harris-Edison house.
“Built in 1887 by attorney Hugh McCallum, who was a Scottish attorney who came to the U.S. to invest in agriculture on behalf of investors in Europe,” Hines said.
From 1900 to 1925, the home was owned by Orange County road and bridge superintendent, John A. Harris.
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Then from 1950 to 1987, the home belonged to Theodore and Ann Edison.
“Our second bedroom we call the Edison bedroom because the Edison family lived here for 46 years as their winter retreat,” Hines said.
Hines said it’s possible Thomas Edison spent some time in the home too.
“A lot of his personal belongings, inventions and things were in the cottage next door, and there was no one in the carriage house cottage, and someone broke into it and stole all of that,” Christine Hines, said.
Since the home’s construction nearly 140 years ago, a kitchen and bathrooms have been added to the main house. In 1912, Hines said Harris asked John Kohler of Kohler Plumbing in Wisconsin to help him convert three closets in the house into bathrooms.
While a few things have changed, others have stayed the same — like the original heart of pine floors.
Hines said Edison even left behind a few pieces of furniture.
“These beds were Edison beds, so they’re cast iron which have been lengthened for use today by taller people and some of the furniture here was left by the Edisons,” Hines said. “After Ann Edison died in 1987, Mr. Edison sold the home and left a lot of stuff here.”
Sam and Christine Hines said they advocated for the home to be added to the historic registry in 2001. They said before moving in they were nervous about trading their modern home for a historic home — but they both agree they’d do it all over again.
“I think it’s been 30 years of feeling comfortable where you are and who you are in a historical environment, and I don’t think there is a feeling like it,” Hines said.
To view the full listing for the home and see photos, click here.
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