Greenfield Village
In the autumn of his years Henry Ford; was arguably the richest man in the world, he began to spend his time in pursuit of personal interests. Ford’s primary interest was in creating a historic village to show American innovation produced by industrialization. Ford set out to build his village to an exacting historical degree and supervised the archeological deconstruction, numbering each piece, along with the reconstruction on his Dearborn Michigan property. Among the many buildings in Greenfield Village are the original Wright brothers bicycle shop and Thomas Edison’s workshop. Ford paid strict attention to the slightest details and made sure each chemical and material in Edison’s shop were in the same spot as the original shop. As a young man Henry Ford worked for Thomas Edison. Walking through Greenfield Village is a walk along a living history.
A steam locomotive moves a passenger train around the village and there’s a working
locomotive round house on the property available for a visitor’s inspection. Train stations placed around the village offer an overview of the offerings and a quick way to navigate the many attractions. The village has a fleet of original restored Ford model T’s that offer visitor’s a ride on the village streets. The exhibits are well tended and some present period actors in skits depicting historical incidents.
Mr. Fords interests range from historic farms, old wind mills, and on to old general stores. Henry Ford was basically a farm boy who studied engineering and became a premier industrialist; and although he did not invent the production line he perfected it on a large scale. Not being what would be considered a cultured gentleman he was a bit out of step with his worldlier pier group and not particularly versed in the arts, history, travel or political protocol. Henry Ford neither smoked or drank alcohol and believed in hard work. He was generous with family and friends and a tough taskmaster with his employees. Ford had a difficult relationship with his son Edsel, most likely not wanting to be upstaged by the well-liked and intelligent son. Edsel passed away in his late forties from cancer and Henry felt remorse the rest of his life.
Among the amenities in the village is the Eagle Tavern specializing in an early twentieth century menu and a staff in period costume. The ambiance is early twentieth century in both interior and exterior. You could close your eyes and go back 100 years. Click here for a run through a slideshow of Greenfield Village.