| Description |
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
The Henry Ford is the largest indoor-outdoor museum complex in America. Patrons enter at the gate, passing by the Josephine Ford Memorial Fountain and Benson Ford Research Center. Nearly one hundred historical buildings were moved to the property from their original locations and arranged in a "village" setting.
The museum's intent is to show how Americans lived and worked since the founding of the country. The Village includes buildings from the 17th century to the present, many of which are staffed by costumed interpreters who conduct period tasks like farming, sewing and cooking.
A collection of craft buildings such as pottery, glass-blowing, and tin shops provide demonstrations while producing materials used in the Village and for sale. Greenfield Village has 240 acres (970,000 m²) of land of which only 90 acres (360,000 m²) are used for the attraction, the rest being forest, river and extra pasture for the sheep and horses.
A transportation system provides rides by horse-drawn omnibus, steam locomotive, a 1931 Model AA bus, and authentic Ford Model Ts.
The Weiser Railroad is a standard gauge passenger train that travels around the perimieter of Greenfield Village and has four stations.
Steam locomotives in operation include the Torch Lake, an 1873 0-6-4 Mason Bogie which is one of the oldest operating steam locomotives in the U.S.,
and the Edison, a Manchester 0-4-0 rebuilt into a 4-4-0 by Ford.
There is also a round house with turntable.
The railroad has a direct connection with tracks of the Norfolk Southern Railroad used by Amtrak trains between Chicago and Detroit, with a conditional station reserved for tour groups.
Village homes and buildings include:
The Wright brothers' bicycle shop and home.
A replica of Thomas Edison's Menlo Park laboratory complex from New Jersey. Its reconstruction started in 1928. The buildings were laid out according to exact foundation measurements from the original site. It was furnished with original or faithful duplicates, all placed as they were originally
Henry Ford's birthplace
Henry Ford's prototype garage where he built the Ford Quadricycle
Harvey Firestone family farm from Columbiana, Ohio
Ackley Covered Bridge, a 75' wooden covered bridge, built in 1832 over Enlow Fork along the Greene - Washington County line in Southwestern Pennsylvania and removed to the village in 1937
The Logan County, Illinois courthouse where Abraham Lincoln practiced law.
Luther Burbank's (botanist, horticulturist and pioneer in agricultural science) office
Cape Cod Windmill, also known as the Farris mill, is considered one of the oldest in America. It was originally built in 1633 on the north side of Cape Cod. It was moved several times around Cape Cod until it was gifted to Henry Ford from the Ford Dealers Association, and installed in Greenfield Village in 1936. |
