Park 7: Edison National Historic Site, New Jersey

6/2/12. What a special day this turned out to be! We had planned on various other days to visit the Edison site since it is the closest National Park unit to our home, but it's got limited hours, especially for tours. We knew it would be open today since it was a Saturday, but when we arrived, there were streams of people, a park ranger in the parking lot guiding people and various special signs up. It turns out it was Edison Day - a once-a-year celebration that we just stumbled upon!

Organ inside Glenmont Estate

We chatted with the park ranger who convinced us to tour Edison's home, Glenmont Estate, first. A shuttle bus took us up the hill to the property entrance. We got a ticket for the next tour and quickly jogged over to the house as the tour was starting. The house was fantastic! Lots of crazy artifacts, but the architecture really captivated us. It was easy to imagine living in the home during that time period, and we learned a lot about Edison as a person and family-man.

After the tour, we walked around the outside of the house and discovered a guided walking tour that you could do by calling a number on your cellphone and entering the corresponding number code for that particular site. We learned a lot more about the architecture and grounds. Then we headed over to the greenhouse where there was a little gift shop. We got our cancellation stamps and bought some Victorian books and patterns before walking through the greenhouse.

Movie Projector in the living room of Glenmont Estate

Next we caught the shuttle back to the main site where Edison's laboratory was located. This is preserved as if all the workers just left for the day! We spent a great deal of time looking at all the rooms and details and imagining the operations at work. The feel of the place not only takes you back in time, but it gives you a deeper understanding of how Edison thought and must have worked. It's one of the best historical preservations we've seen so far.

Outside Glenmont Estate

Because it was a special celebration, there was a band playing, which was being recorded on one of Edison's wax cylinders. There were other activities for children, like dressing up in period costume. We stopped at the visitor center and watched a film about Edison, and visited the archives. The whole site is quite large, with many of the "factory" buildings that are adjacent to the laboratory still standing, but in dilapidated condition.

The National Park Service website has a marvelous collection of photos and sound recordings from Edison's time period. Here are a few examples:

Instructor teaching worker at Edison Plant,1919

This was a wonderful trip and we were so impressed we will be recommending this to others!!