Which U.S. state became Thomas Edison’s longtime laboratory base?

New Jersey became Thomas Edison’s longtime laboratory base.

Edison established his famous Menlo Park laboratory in New Jersey in 1876. The site was associated with major developments including the phonograph and practical electric lighting. In 1887, he opened a much larger laboratory complex in West Orange, also in New Jersey.

West Orange remained central to Edison’s later work. The complex included laboratories, machine shops, offices, and facilities for developing motion-picture equipment, batteries, cement, and sound-recording technology.

Edison was born in Ohio and spent part of his childhood in Michigan, so those states are also important in his biography. However, New Jersey was the state most closely linked with his mature research and manufacturing operations.