Thomas A. Edison Birthplace, Front Street & Choate Avenue, Milan, Erie County, OH

Significance: From the Nat'l Register nomination: Thomas Alva Edison, one of America's most illustrious inventors, was born in this house on February 11, 1847. Although he left Milan in 1854, before this structure could exercise any marked influence on his later life, Edison cherished the memory of this small brick cottage in Milan, Ohio. As he grew older, Edison remembered his birthplace in Milan, acquiring it from his sister in 1906. Uninterested in formal schooling, Edison worked hard at educating himself, and by the age of sixteen had made several inventions in telegraphy. Several years later, in company with a number of talented friends, he formed what has been called the first "invention factory," which produced numerous new products, particularly for the telegraph and telephone. Edison and his colleagues also developed the incandescent lamp in 1879, the Pearl Street power plant in New York City in 1882, and discovered the "Edison effect" in 1883. The Nation recognized the tremendous benefits resulting from Edison's long labors in 1928 when Congress awarded him a gold medal for his contributions to mankind. He died three years later on October 18, 1931.
Survey number: HABS OH-22-22
Building/structure dates: 1842 Initial Construction
National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 66000608