In 1916 Thomas Edison's neighbor (at the Fort Myers, Florida winter estate), Robert Smith, wrote to Henry Ford relating, "Personally, I would prefer to have you buy it and in this I express the sentiment of the people of Fort Myers. We are all proud to have Mr. Edison spend his winters here and would be just as proud to have Mr. Henry Ford become one of our winter residents."

With the sale completed in July 1916, Killian Melber, a local florist, became Ford's first agent in Fort Myers. Ford purchased this home furnished. As Melber prepared the property for the Fords' visit in 1917, he related to them that all they needed was silverware, bedding, and table linens.

The gardens were well-developed at the time the Fords purchased the estate. They included 100 grapefruit and 50 orange trees, as well as mangoes, paw-paws, lemons, limes, guavas, tangerines, coconuts, and bananas. Smith named the property "The Mangoes" due to the abundance of mango trees.

Photo captured March 24, 2011.