Field Notes Ohio

Ohio's parks, forests and wildlife areas with camping, the ancient mounds beside them, and the Buckeye Trail that links them. Stories, trails, wildlife, and where to eat and fuel up nearby. Book campsites on ReserveOhio.
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The Buckeye TrailA 1,444-mile blue-blazed loop around Ohio, with all 26 sections.
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Mounds & Earthworks43 ancient sites, including the Great Serpent Mound and the Newark Earthworks.
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Historic Sites39 places, from Fort Steuben and Zoar to Camp Chase and the Rankin House, from the frontier to the Civil War.
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Road Trips33 drives, from the Lincoln Highway to the Morgan Heritage Trail.
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Lake Erie Beaches20 public beaches from Conneaut to Toledo and the islands, with a map.
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Oddities & Roadside Attractions19 giants, ghosts and folk-art stops, plus a Mothman just over the line.
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Caves & Caverns12 show caverns, recess caves and rock shelters, with a map.
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Waterfalls34 falls from the Cuyahoga Valley to the Hocking Hills, with trail notes and a map.
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117 parks in 7 regions

Thomas Edison Birthplace Museum

Milan · Erie County · North-central Ohio
The house in a canal port where Edison was born
National Historic LandmarkMilan canal port

Visiting information you can trust

Check before driving — this site is seasonal, approximate, privately run, or otherwise uncertain. Confirm hours and access with the official source above.
Content last reviewed
September 2026 — this is when Field Notes Ohio's content was last checked, not a live status.
Primary official source
Official page
Location confidence
Verified entrance or visitor center
Edison Birthplace Museum, 9 N Edison Dr, Milan
Seasonal access
Hours vary by season: closed Mondays and in January, and usually open Friday to Sunday afternoons, 1 to 5 p.m., with more days in summer. Confirm with the museum.
Check current conditions
Official conditions or closures
Reservations or tickets
Tickets or admission info

Prices, hours, closures, campsite availability and trail conditions shown elsewhere on this page are not live — always confirm with the official source before you go.

A small brick cottage in Milan, once a canal grain port, where Thomas Edison was born and spent his first seven years.

Built
1841 by Samuel Edison, a shingle maker who designed it
Born
Thomas Alva Edison, February 11, 1847, the seventh and last child
Left
In 1854, when the family moved to Port Huron, Michigan
Milan
A canal boomtown, described as the second-largest inland grain port in the world
Museum
Opened in 1947, the centennial of his birth, by his daughter Madeleine Edison Sloane
Landmark
National Historic Landmark since 1965

The story

Samuel Edison came to Milan in 1840 after his family had again been on the wrong side of political upheaval: his grandfather was a Loyalist who left New Jersey for Canada after the Revolution, and Samuel himself took part in the failed Canadian rebellion of 1837 to 1838 and fled to the United States. Milan was booming because of its canal, the Huron River link that made it one of the busiest inland grain ports in the world, and he built a small brick house near the canal in 1841. There, on February 11, 1847, his seventh and last child was born. Thomas was named for an uncle, and Alva for Cleveland ship captain Alva Bradley, Samuel's friend and benefactor.

The railroads bypassed Milan and the canal port faded, and in 1854 the Edisons moved to Port Huron, Michigan. Thomas went on to hold 1,093 patents. He cherished his boyhood memories of Milan and bought the house from his sister's family in 1906, and after his death his wife and daughter opened it as a museum in 1947. The Edison Birthplace Association manages it, and family members serve on its board.

Related sites

The Inventor Who Started in a Canal Town

Edison's parents came to Milan chasing wheat money. The canal turned the little town into one of the biggest grain ports in the world, and a shingle maker could hope to make a living.

By the time their youngest son was seven, the railroads had passed Milan by. The family moved on to Michigan, and the boy went on to change the world.

Behind the legend

The 1841 house, the 1847 birth, the 1854 move, the 1906 purchase and the 1947 opening are documented by the National Park Service, the historical marker and Ohio Magazine. The 'second-largest inland grain port' claim is Ohio Magazine's and is repeated widely; the 1,093 patents figure is standard. The detail about the middle name Alva is from the same article.

If you go

Tour the house, walk to the Milan Canal Basin and the Milan Historical Museum nearby.

Visiting

Status
Open seasonally
Managed by
Edison Birthplace Association
Hours
Hours vary by season: closed Mondays and in January, and usually open Friday to Sunday afternoons, 1 to 5 p.m., with more days in summer. Confirm with the museum.
Admission
Admission is roughly $5 to $9 and includes a preview and a guided tour of the house.
Phone
419-499-2135
Please note
Tours are guided.
Address
9 N Edison Dr, Milan, OH 44846
Official information →DirectionsFind trails nearby on AllTrails →

Hours and prices change. Confirm with the site before you go.

Parks nearby

East Harbor State Park
About 25 miles · A big camping park on Lake Erie.
Open
Catawba Island State Park
About 30 miles · A quiet state park on a Lake Erie peninsula.
Open

Buckeye Trail

Norwalk Section
52 miles · on or near the Buckeye Trail
Open

Details last checked 2026-09-22. Confirm hours and prices before you go.