The Botanic Research Laboratory is one of the most absorbing features of the Edison Estate. Here, workers helped Edison in his research on goldenrod as a source of natural rubber. The Laboratory is filled with the original apparatus and equipment Edison used to conduct his rubber research, as well as the cot where Edison took "catnaps" while working in the laboratory.

When the price of rubber soared in the late 1920’s, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone combined their efforts, talents and finances in search of a natural source for rubber. Together they established the Edison Botanic Research Company. Extensive research proved Goldenrod, a common weed growing to an average height of 3-4 feet, produced 5% yield of latex. Through hybridization, Edison produced Goldenrod in excess of 12 feet, yielding 12% latex.