Visit Louisville’s Thomas Edison House

Take the Thomas Edison House Tour

Planning a trip to Louisville? Whether you are visiting for business or pleasure you should definitely take the time to stop by the Thomas Edison House. The only way to see it is by guided tour which will be perfectly adjusted to your group’s interest. You will be shocked at some of the facts you will learn during your visit about both Thomas Edison and some of his more famous and influential inventions. The house is small so this stop will be short but sweet which means you can easily fit a visit here during your stay.

Is the Thomas Edison House Dog Friendly?

Thomas Edison House is NOT dog friendly, so your canine friend will have to miss out on this one. Since the tour is on the shorter side, you and your travel partners could either take turns with your pup outside or consider leaving your dog behind wherever you are staying as long as it’s allowed and safe.

Check out our list of dog-friendly places to visit in Kentucky if you are looking for stops where your pup can join you.

What is the Thomas Edison House?

The Thomas Edison House is a small historic building where you can take a private tour to learn more about the famous inventor and his inventions. If you look online, you will see that there are several places called or referred to as “Thomas Edison House”. This is because he lived in a bunch of different houses around the United States during his lifetime.

This particular house is where he rented a room when he was 19 and worked as a telegraph key operator in Louisville Kentucky. Today it is listed as a historical home and houses a small museum dedicated to Thomas Edison and some of his inventions.

Where to Stay When Visiting the Thomas Edison House

The Thomas Edison House is located in the Butchertown neighborhood in Louisville, Kentucky. This city is full of options if you are looking for somewhere to stay with several great choices within walking distance of this attraction.

Campsites Near Louisville

Even though Louisville is a city, there still are several campgrounds in the area. The following campsites are all dog friendly. The KOA also has some dog-friendly cabins for an extra fee.

• Jefferson Memorial Forest Campground is $15 per night
• Louisville North Campground– $40 per night; cabins $50/per night
• Louisville South KOA Holiday– $55/night Cabins available at variable prices.

Hotels Near the Thomas Edison House

Use our booking.com link to find the best hotel for your vacation! We loved staying at the dog-friendly Hancock House just a few blocks away if you are looking for more of an Airbnb experience but in a hotel-like setting.

Where to Eat When Visiting the Thomas Edison House

The Butchertown neighborhood is full of places to enjoy a good meal and/or drink.  Check out some of these places all just a short distance from Thomas Edison House.

• Goodwood Brewing and Spirits
• La Bodequita De Mima Cuban Restaurant
• Rabbit Hole Distillery
• Old 502 Winery
• Guaca Mole Modern Mexican
• Feast BBQ
• Biscuit Belly
• Pho Ba Luu
• Naïve Kitchen and Bar

Thomas Edison House    

The Thomas Edison House is a small historic building where you can take a private tour to learn more about Thomas Edison and his more famous inventions. Your tour will be adjusted to your group’s interests and there are even several hands-on displays perfect for kids or adults willing to have fun while you learn. We loved hearing new things about Edison and being able to see some of his inventions up close.

Thomas Edison House Price and Hours

The museum is open from 10 am – 2 pm Tuesdays through Thursdays for guided tours only. The tours are around $5 a person and are totally worth the price! I do recommend calling ahead to let them know when you would like to visit just to make sure someone will be available. You are able to simply walk in for the tour but depending on what may be happening that day, you might have to wait for your turn.

How long is the tour of the Thomas Edison House?

Since the house is small, the tour will be on the shorter side. I would say to plan on around 20 min from start to finish but it will be dependent on a few factors. The main two factors will be your tour guide and your level of interest. Danny LOVES learning about the history of inventions and how things work so our tour lasted a little over an hour. However, if your group has people with short attention spans and you are in a rush, you could be done in as little as 10.

What to Expect at the Thomas Edison House Museum

Thomas Edison House is a tiny historic building in the Butchertown neighborhood. At the time Mr. Edison lived there, it was home to a small family who rented him a room while he stayed in Louisville. He moved to the city to work as a nighttime telegraph operator so he would have time to work on his experiments.

When you walk into the building, you will be able to see a timeline of sorts along one wall of Edison’s life. You can see the dates of his major inventions alongside big world events. I loved going over this display because my knowledge of his scientific discoveries was always separate in my mind from other parts of history. I was surprised to see it laid out in a way that clearly stated he was alive at the same time as other famous historical figures such as Abraham Lincoln, the Wright Brothers, and Henry Ford.

The first room to your left is the room that Thomas Edison lived in during his stay. They tried to keep it as historically accurate as possible. It’s a great opportunity to see how people lived in the 1860s. As you go through this room, your tour guide will talk about the beds, how one would have cooked, and used the bathroom, and how Edison would have spent his spare time with activities such as reading and journaling.

The next area of the house will dive into some of Edison’s more influential inventions starting with phonographs. There are several different types on display, and you will have the opportunity to learn a little about how they work. You will even be able to hear a few of them play music so you can hear the differences in the quality of sound.

Your guide may even talk to you about Edison’s business practices which may sound a bit familiar. His phonograph could only operate with his brand of needle and records. You also would not be able to use his needles or records on other brands that came out. I wonder if this is where companies like Apple got their inspiration.

The next section displayed his mimeograph (one of the first copy “machines”), dictation machines, and automatic telegraphs which I’m sure was inspired by his time working as a telegraph operator. This area also has a telegraph machine along with the morse code alphabet for guests to practice sending messages.

You will then move on to see some flipbooks and some of his motion picture machines. One of the last sections will go over the invention of the incandescent light bulb and talk about his laboratory. I had always thought that all his inventions were created by Thomas Edison and Thomas Edison alone. He actually had quite a few staff that worked on inventions and helped throughout the entire process!

Other Louisville Activities:

Louisville is full of fun and interesting things to do. If you are looking to make more memories on your vacation, check out these local attractions:

• Kentucky Mt Rushmore
• Louisville Slugger Museum
• Kentucky Derby Museum
• Louisville Zoo
• Louisville’s Jack O’ Lantern Spectacular

Nearby Attractions:

For ideas of places to visit in the surrounding area, check out these places. These stops are all under 2 hours away.

Historical Attractions Near Thomas Edison House:

• My Old Kentucky Home
• Abraham Lincoln Sites in Kentucky
• Ark Encounter and Creations Museum
• Louisville Slugger Museum
• Kentucky Derby Museum

Dog-friendly Attractions near Louisville:

• Mammoth Cave National Park
• Hidden River Cave and American Cave Museum
• Dinosaur World

Check out our post on Dog-friendly Vacation Stops in Kentucky for more ideas!

Why You Should Visit:

If you enjoy learning new details about history, how things work, or how they were invented then you will want to spend the $5 to visit Thomas Edison House. I am constantly surprised at how much I learn and enjoy visiting these smaller museum stops. The tour is perfectly adjusted to fit your interests and attention spans so there is no way you’ll be bored. The house is also located in a city with so many things to do, that it will be easy to fill the rest of your vacation with more adventure of all kinds.

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