Donald M. Payne: “I am privileged to have within my Congressional District one of the most important national historical sites in the…”

“I am privileged to have within my Congressional District one of the most important national historical sites in the Nation, the complex of laboratories in West Orange, New Jersey, where Thomas Edison produced the inventions that changed the world: the light bulb, the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and the alkaline battery, among others. In fact, he obtained over 1,000 patents in his lifetime. The prolific American genius left behind 400,000 artifacts and more than 5 million pages of notes, drawings, letters, and memos. Let me note that another prominent African-American inventor, Lewis Latimer, contributed to the development of electric lighting and was a member of the Edison Pioneers who supported Thomas Edison's work. Also, in a photo, a rare photo, there is a picture of about 30 visitors to the Edison grounds, one of them being Frederick Douglass, an outstanding African-American in the history of this country. So the Edison movement had many people involved. Unfortunately, about 5 years ago, the magnificent Thomas Edison National Historic Site was added to the list of 'America's Most Endangered Historic Places.' A lack of funding had led to serious deterioration in the physical condition of the site, threatening the priceless treasures of history that are stored at the very place where Thomas Edison worked on his monumental inventions.”