The Henry Ford – Dearborn, Michigan
Growing up this was called Greenfield Village. Only after many years into adulthood was the name changed to The Henry Ford to evoke the originator of much of the collection. In 1929, Henry Ford created Greenfield Village. He was informed by the philosophy of “learning by doing.” He paid tribute to his friend and hero, Thomas Edison, and also gave visitors an opportunity to experience unique aspects of their history firsthand. He realized this vision by relocating and preserving a collection of authentic historic buildings that were moved to this site and reassembled to resemble an American village. Living history is alive and well with farmers, artisans, inventors, writers, shopkeepers, and railroad workers (among others) carrying out daily tasks throughout this ever changing landscape.
The iconic steam locomotive passes by. Behind it is one of the buildings from Thomas Edison’s famous Menlo Park laboratory in present-day Edison, New Jersey. In 1876, Thomas Edison set a goal to have one major invention every six months and one minor invention every 10 days. He came very close to achieving that goal. His “invention factory” at Menlo Park Laboratory in New Jersey is the home of the first electric light bulb, the first phonograph, and many other inventions. Thomas Edison believed the best creations came from people working together. His team of workers brought both traditional craft skills and new scientific knowledge ot the exciting challenges facing them at this laboratory.
Thomas Edison had his office built from brick so people would think he was running a strong, profitable business. He needed people with a variety of talents to keep his “invention factory” running. Staff on the first floor of his office and library took care of business issues such as accounting and correspondence. They worked alongside employees who dealt with all the reporters who visited. Others created drawings for Edison’s patents. Edison and his personal secretary kept an office in the research library on the second floor.
The Menlo Park Glass Shed was built in 1876 in New Jersey. Glass instruments were needed for many of Thomas Edison’s chemical experiments as well as some of his inventions, including the light bulb. Within the Glass Shed was an unlikely combination of skills – glassblowing and image duplication. Edison took advantage of a newer invention – the cyanotype machine – to make multiple copies of technical drawings for his workers.
Thomas Edison’s Menlo Park Machine Shop served as the first central power station when Thomas Edison demonstrated his lighting system to the press on New Year’s Eve 1879. John Kruesi, a Swiss immigrant, was the foreman in Thomas Edison’s shop. He had a talent for putting Edison’s ideas into three-dimension form.
Greenfield Village Tintype Studio. This was built in 1929 in Greenfield Village. Charles Tremear, a traveling tintypist until he found work with Ford Motor Company in 1909, was asked in 1929 to create authentic “old-style” tintypes for visitors in Greenfield Village. He ran this studio until his death in 1943. During that time he produced more than 40,000 tintypes. In this studio, Tremear made portraits of many famous people, including Thomas Edison, Joe Louis and Walt Disney. Tintypes were inexpensive photographs made on a thin sheet of iron painted black. They were much less expensive that paper photographs in the late 1800s.
Sir John Bennett Jewelry Shop. The clock figures, Gog and Magog who are the ancient protectors of Britain, toll the chimes of this shop every 15 minutes. Sire John Bennett was a successful clock, watch and jewelry maker in London, England. This building stood five stories at its original London site. It was scaled down to two stories when it was moved to Greenfield Village in 1931. Today it has a sweep shop inside. The exterior decorative elements are from the original shop in London, England.
Pottery Shop. Built in 1935.
Grimm Jewelry Store was built in 1885 in Detroit, Michigan. Engelbert Grimm lived over the store with his family. They sold jewelry, watches, and clocks to local customers. Grimm was a German immigrant who ran this store for 45 years. He offered mass-produced, inexpensive jewelry and watches to Detroit-area residents. Henry Ford enjoyed visiting the store and talking to the owner about fixing watches and working with machinery.
Eagle Tavern.
Soybeam Lab Agricultural Gallery. This building was constructed in 1913 in Greenfield Village. Henry Ford experimented here with soybeans. Today is is a gallery featuring farm tools and equipment that show changes from traditional to more innovative designs, which made farm work faster and easier. Henry Ford, a farm boy himself, realized that there was an important connection between agriculture and industry. The soybeans he experimented with in this building went into the production of Model A car parts, and experimental car body, and even a suit of clothes.
Soybean oil made a superior paint enamel and lubrication. Soy-based plastics could be molded into horn buttons, gearshift knobs, door handles, window trim, and accelerator pedals. Although many of his experiments were never embraced on an industry-wide scale, Ford was ahead of his time in raising people’s awareness of the many uses of soybeans. Today, soybeans can be found in industrial products such as ink, varnishes, enamels, and adhesives.
We captured an image where the role of industry and agriculture was on display. A traditional horse drawn plow was working a field in the distance. While in the foreground is an early mechanized tractor.
“Main Street,” “Working Farms,” and “Porches and Parlors” are a few of the themed sections within Greenfield Village.
Giddings Family House was built in Exeter, New Hampshire, around 1750 for John Giddings. He was a ship builder and merchant who earned his living in the West Indies trade of rum, sugar, and molasses. The house reflects the merchant family’s social status in a busy port town. John Giddings and his family moved into this house before the American Revolution.
Noah Webster Home. This was the home of Noah Webster, built in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1823. He created America’s first dictionary. The home was created for his retirement, though he never stopped working, doing many of his projects here. His famous American Dictionary of the English Language was published in 1828 when he lived here. It had more than 70,000 word entries.
Cotswold Cottage, built in the early 1600s in Chedworth, Gloustershire, England. Limestone was plentiful in England and many homes were made from this natural resource. The families who lived in this home had a variety of jobs. From the early 1700s to the mid-1800s, several generations of the Sley/Robins/Smith family worked as farmers and stone masons.
Windmill.
Robert Frost Home, built circa 1835 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. While a poet-in-residence at the University of Michigan, Robert Frost often took walks around the neighborhood. He found this house on one of his walks and thought it was very charming. From this house he later wrote some of his best poetry and inspired students in their creative efforts. Robert Frost was appointed to the “Life Fellowship in Letters” at the University of Michigan in the 1920s. While living here, he invited students over to have tea and talk about their poems. Frost wrote many poems here, including “Spring Pools,” which he finished in three days while dreaming of springtime in New England.
The omnibus is a horse-drawn vehicle designed to carry a large number of people. At Greenfield Village it is a convenient way to get around the grounds between sites.
One of the best ways to get around The Henry Ford is through walking. The HealthThroughHistory program lays out two routes of .5 miles and 1 mile each. This encourages active recreation while walking through “300 years of history.”
The Museum
The 1961 Lincoln that carried President John F. Kennedy is here.
President Theodore Roosevelt rode in this circa 1902 broughman. Two passengers could sit in privacy inside while the coachman out front drove the horses. It was designed to be closer to the ground than most carriages so that passengers could easily get in and out. Roosevelt preferred this carriage for public parades and outings.
The massive trains have always been one of my favorite parts of the museum.
A short bus ride takes people to the Ford Rouge Factory Tour. This historic building has been upgraded with some sustainability measures.
Back at the museum a deconstructed Model T Ford illustrates the parts that came together so well in this early mass produced automobile.
Increasingly it is clear how Greenfield Village has evolved into being a monument for the man who made this distinctive place possible. The Henry Ford is as much about 300 years of American history as it is a tribute to the interest of the man who brought this place about.
As we prepared to leave to leave, we caught a glimpse of a billboard with mention of the Museum, Village, IMAX Theatre, and Factory Tour. Then it became clear – these activities together are how The Henry Ford hopes to become “America’s Greatest History Attraction.”