Why is Thomas Edison called the Wizard of Menlo Park?

Answer 1

Because his first laboratory was located in Menlo Park, New Jersey.

It should be noted that it has been a longtime misconception that Edison created all of his inventions in Menlo Park. In fact, he only occupied that laboratory, his first "invention factory" from 1876 to 1884. His first wife, Mina, died while he worked at Menlo Park, and it brought him great grief to be there. He moved to a new and larger facility located on Main Street and Lakeside Avenue in West Orange, New Jersey.

He was also becoming more of a businessman than an inventor, with patent claims taking much time. This was where inventions such as the motion picture (Black Maria) were created. This new lab was only about 4 blocks from Edison's home in Llewellyn Park.

The phonograph and the perfection of the light bulb were done at Menlo Park, in 1877 and 1879 respectively. He also had an electric rail line there. He also experimented with putting a third element in a light bulb, creating a crude vacuum tube, and calling the emissions an "etheric force" (this was before radio waves had been identified).

Menlo Park was virtually abandoned later in the century and used for chicken coops, and a firehouse. Parts of the plant were looted or burned, and building materials were carted off. The glass blowing house was the only structure to remain, and it was moved to Ford's re-creation site in Deerfield Village, Michigan. A tower stands at the site today to commemorate the spot where Edison "en-light-ened" the world. A scale model of the lab made from pieces of the original are located in the museum there.

He was first called the "Wizard of Menlo Park" in a newspaper article that stated he had created a machine that could produce food. Edison had a showman's talent for self-promotion and embraced the nickname.