Historic Preservation
The Uncommon Friends Foundation seeks to collect, preserve and exhibit archival and three-dimensional materials related to James D. and Eleanor
Forde Newton. The collection demonstrates their relationships with the Uncommon Friends: Thomas A. and Mina Edison, Henry and Clara Ford, Harvey
and Isabelle Firestone, Dr. Alexis and Anne-Marie Carrel, and Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh. – Uncommon Friends Collection Policy
The Uncommon Friends Foundation and name evolved from James D. Newton's book, Uncommon Friends. Newton's writing related to his experiences with and observations of those named above who were influential in shaping the twentieth century. They thought and acted as pioneers; they specialized in the impossible and created the breakthroughs. They were the visionaries, the seekers, and the explorers, with an astonishing awareness of the needs of their age and beyond. They not only changed James Newton's life, but the life of everyone living in the twentieth century.
 |
Hearing about Jim Newton's donation of his Charles Lindbergh's letters to Yale University, Lee County Commissioner John Albion and Fran Myers, a local entrepreneur, were concerned that the other Newton papers might similarly leave Lee County. They explored the idea of creating a Foundation to protect the Newton legacy. James and Eleanor Newton consented to a historic partnership between the City of Fort Myers and Lee County, Florida, in December 1993, with the creation of the Uncommon Friends Foundation. Michele W. Albion, Curator of the Edison Ford Winter Estates, inventoried and catalogued the Newton Collection, protecting it with archival boxes in a storage facility. |
In 2008, the Uncommon Friends Foundation moved into the historic 1901 Burroughs Home, owned by the City of Fort Myers, and undertook the management and operation of this significant historic resource. Under the direction of the property manager the home and gardens have been restored to their former glory. After years of deferred maintenance and sporadic staffing, the home reopened for tours and special events. A volunteer historic preservation consultant researched the Burroughs family artifacts, rewrote the docent manual and studied the Newton collection which is now on display, including the 1940s afghan knitted by Mina Edison for the Newtons.
 |
 |
 |