Thomas Alva Edison Birthplace
{{short description|Historic house in Ohio, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name = Thomas A. Edison Birthplace
| nrhp_type = nhl
| image = HABS OHIO,22-MILA,1-1.jpg
| caption = HABS photo, 1934
| location = 9 Edison Drive
Milan, Ohio
| coordinates = {{coord|41|18|0|N|82|36|16|W|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin = Ohio#USA
| mapframe = yes
| mapframe-marker = building
| mapframe-zoom = 12
|mapframe-caption = Interactive map showing the location of Thomas Alva Edison Birthplace
| built = {{start date|1841}}
| builder = Samuel Edison
| visitation_num =
| visitation_year =
| area = less than one acre
| refnum = 66000608{{NRISref|version=2010a}}
}}
The Thomas Alva Edison Birthplace is a historic house museum at 9 Edison Drive in Milan, Ohio, Built in 1841, it was the birthplace of American inventor Thomas Alva Edison (1847–1931), born on February 11, 1847. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. It is now the Thomas Edison Birthplace Museum.
Description and history
The Thomas Alva Edison Birthplace is in a formerly residential (now a museum complex) area north of downtown Milan, on the west side of North Edison Drive. It is a small {{frac|1|1|2}}-story brick building, with a gabled roof and two end chimneys. The main facade is five bays wide, with the entrance at the center, topped by a four-light transom window. The door and window openings are all headed by stone lintels. The downstairs interior includes two parlors, a sitting room, and kitchen. The sitting room, in which Edison was born, includes the bed in which his mother lay for the birth. The upstairs attic level includes two more bedrooms. The house is furnished with Edison family artifacts.{{cite web|url={{NHLS url|id=66000608}}|title=National Historic Landmark nomination for Thomas Alva Edison Birthplace|publisher=National Park Service|accessdate=2018-02-20}}
The house was built and designed by Samuel Edison in 1841, on land purchased by his wife, Nancy Elliott Edison. His son Thomas was born here in 1847, and it remained the family home until 1854, when they moved to Port Huron, Michigan. The young Edison's early youth in Milan appears to have been unremarkable, the most notorious incident being his burning down a barn, described by one biographer as a "glorious experiment". The house was sold in 1854, but was repurchased by Edison's sister in 1894. After Edison's death in 1931, his wife and daughter worked to transform the birthplace into a museum in his honor.{{cite web|url=http://tomedison.org/history/|title=History of House|publisher=Thomas Edison Birthplace Museum|accessdate=2018-02-20}}
File:Edison Birthplace Milan Ohio.JPG|Fall of 2008
Image:Young Thomas Edison.jpg|Thomas Edison as a boy
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commonscatinline}}
- [http://tomedison.org/ Edison Birthplace Museum website]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20030921100541/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=443&ResourceType=Building National Historic Landmark listing]
- [http://thomasedisonlightbulb.net/ The History of Thomas Alva Edison]
{{Thomas Edison}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edison, Thomas}}
Category:National Register of Historic Places in Erie County, Ohio
Category:Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio
Category:National Historic Landmarks in Ohio
Category:Museums in Erie County, Ohio
Category:Houses completed in 1841
Category:Historic house museums in Ohio
Category:Biographical museums in Ohio