Though Thomas Edison is commonly referred to as “The Wizard of Menlo Park,” it would be in West Orange, New Jersey, where his imagination and innovative spirit would truly run wild. In 1884, Edison’s first wife, Mary, died and Edison left Menlo Park to move to West Orange to expand operations. He’d already done extensive experimentation on long-lasting filaments in the electric lightbulb and was looking to explore other avenues of invention. Edison purchased roughly five blocks in the center of West Orange, creating a campus of creativity that would…
