On this day in 1906, Thomas Edison came through and stopped in Winston-Salem. He was enroute to Lincoln county to investigate the cobalt mines.
Edison was traveling with Charles Edison, John Miller, Frank Ott, and Mr. Rappa in two automobiles.
Edison often took road trips to search for minerals for his experiments. Sometimes Edison traveled with several friends and took the back roads and camped. On this trip he stayed overnight in the city.
The following day, the 23rd, he and his party left the city via Clemmonsville for Lincoln, Catawba and Gaston Counties.
Being able to obtain cobalt in the United States will aid in his experiments because cobalt must be purchased from Germany, but the cost is too great.
Hearing that Thomas Edison was in town, crowds gathered and greeted him. The newspaper reporter noted that “to every one he had a pleasant word and a handshake. He shows advancing years, with gray hair and defective hearing. He is compact in figure and converses fluently. A number of snap shots were taken of him and had he consented to remain, a reception would have been tendered him.”
The Charlotte Observer covered his visit to North Carolina, and stated that the “arrival of Thomas A. Edison and party at Lincolnton, …. is significant.”
The photo above was taken during one of Edison’s trips to Winston-Salem.
Photo courtesy of Forsyth County Public Library Photograph Collection.
