Step Into History Digital Edition: The Koreshans
Overlapping the time of Edison’s visits to his winter home in Ft Myers, there was another, much different group of people settling just to the south in
what is now Estero. This religious based group were the followers of the charismatic Cyrus Teed, known as Koresh. They were self-sufficient, communal living and believed in some rather strange ideas which included, The Hollow Earth, Immortality and Celibacy.
Join historian and Koreshan State Park volunteer Scott C. for this engrossing virtual program on this little known group and leader. Registration is required.
Missed our last digital Step into History? Click here to view archives.
Digital Discussion: Theodore Miller, Rough Rider
Mina Miller Edison, the wife of Thomas Edison, was one of 11 children from Akron, Ohio. She was the seventh child, and her beloved younger brother
Theodore was the eleventh. Theodore Westwood Miller was attending Yale Law School when he signed up for Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders. He was with Roosevelt at San Juan Hill. Learn about what happened to Theodore during the Spanish American War and the about the entire Miller family.
Join Program Manager Holly Shaffer for this free virtual presentation. Registration is required.
Click here to register for this free webinar.
Missed our last digital discussion? Click here to view archives.
Free Digital Discussion: Thomas Edison and the Naval Consulting Board and Research Laboratory
Thomas Edison, when asked by a New York Times correspondent to comment on the great war taking place in Europe, stated that the United States
should look to science. The government, he believed, should maintain a great research laboratory. In this laboratory all the techniques of military and naval progression could be developed without any large expense.
Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels took the opportunity generated by Edison’s public comments to enlist Edison’s support. He agreed to serve as the head of a new board of civilian experts, the Naval Consulting Board — to advise the Navy on science and technology. The Board’s most ambitious plan was the creation of a modern research facility for the Navy. Congress allocated $1.5 million for the facility. It opened in 1923.
Join Program Manager Holly Shaffer for this free virtual lecture. Registration is required.
Click here to view previous editions.
Step Into History Digital Edition: Southwest Florida Hurricane History
From sunshine to shutters, the words “hurricane” and “Florida” have become practically synonymous with one another. Florida holds a rich history of facing these catastrophic storms and rebuilding time and time again. This month’s Step into History digital edition will focus on the hurricanes that have made landfall in southwest Florida. We will also discuss not only how these storms have affected the Edison and Ford Winter Estates, but also Fort Myers as a whole.
Click here to register for this virtual presentation. To view previous digital Step Into History presentations, visit our channel here.
Step Into History Digital Edition: Edison and Ford During the First World War
Thomas Edison and Henry Ford had many contributions to the war effort, from batteries for submarines to anti-submarine military boats.
Join Site Historian Isaac Hunter for this free webinar. Registration is required.
Click here to see previous editions.
Digital Discussion: Connie Mack, Baseball Legend
Connie Mack was a baseball legend. He spent 65 years in baseball and 50 years managing the Philadelphia Athletics. Learn how Mack changed Fort Myers history when he brought the Athletics to town and the impact he had on baseball overall.
Join Program Manager Holly Shaffer for this free virtual lecture. Registration is required.
Step into History (Digital Edition) – Fordlandia: Ford’s Failed Paradise
Step into history with a discussion on Henry Ford’s attempt to build a city in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest. Henry Ford sought out land in Brazil to secure rubber for the Ford Motor Company and build an idyllic American town conforming to his political beliefs and morals. Learn about
how decades and millions were spent terraforming the Amazon into an American utopia, a project doomed to fail despite American industrialism.
Sign up now to hear the fate of Fordlandia and Henry Ford’s dreams for a perfect America built abroad from our Lead Historian Chase Galewski.
Registration required.
Free Digital Discussion: Clara Ford, the Believer
Discover the reason Henry Ford called Clara Bryant Ford “the believer.” Uncover the impact she had on Henry and her son Edsel as well as Ford
Motor Company. Learn about her charitable deeds, her passion for gardening and her involvement in the suffrage movement.
Join Program Manager Holly Shaffer for this free virtual lecture. Registration is required– click here to register.
Click here to view previous digital discussions.
Digital Discussion: Helen Keller’s Life and Legacy
Discover the life story of Helen Keller and her remarkable accomplishments that changed the world. Learn about the close friendship she shared with Thomas Edison and other prominent figures of her time.
Join Program Manager Holly Shaffer for this free virtual lecture. Registration is required.
Click here to register.
