Some of nearby Galion’s most famous visitors will “return” on Friday when Thomas Alva Edison and his wife, Mina Miller Edison, come back to visit Bloomer and Nellie Gill at The Gill House, 342 Harding Way West.
Preserving Galion is presenting a reenactment of the famous visit, which took place at the house 100 years ago this month.
The Edisons were in Ohio to attend the funeral of President Warren G. Harding, who died in early August 1923. Harding, of course, was a local boy, having been born in nearby Blooming Grove to Galion-wed parents. Harding’s wife, Florence, actually lived in Galion for a short time.
Mrs. Edison’s father, Lewis Miller, was a founder of the famous Chautauqua Institution in western New York. Nellie Stewart of Galion, daughter of a railroad executive, and her family visited Chautauqua during summers in the late 1870s, when Nellie and Mina became great friends. The girls exchanged visits in Galion and Akron, and those visits continued after Mina’s marriage to Thomas Edison in 1886.
This Friday, enjoy music, food, and fun. Visitors can also view the light bulbs created by participants in the first Edison History Camp, which took place at The Gill House this past Saturday.
The fun begins at 4 PM and lasts until 7 PM.
The photo shows one of the successful light bulb experiments done by Galion children – view this and others on Friday!
