When we knew we were going to Detroit, MI we decided to make sure we had time and energy to visit the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation. Little did we know what that might really entail.
Yes, people told us it was huge. But not only is the museum huge, there’s a whole outside part called Greenfield Village that’s also huge. At first we thought we’d try and do both; well, we was me – I thought we’d do both. But I’m so glad we only got tickets for one because it was so exhausting just doing Greenfield Village on the hot summer day that any more and it would’ve been miserable. So we’re just going to have to go back to see the rest in the future.
Henry Ford unveiled Greenfield Village in 1929. It has buildings that have been moved brick by brick and plank by plank from their original location to the site and some recreations. Each place was uniquely cool and interesting. So let’s go through the gates and explore Greenfield Village at The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation in Dearborn, MI.
One of the first things we saw when we arrived was the train – you can book tickets to ride the train but we passed on that. What was cool though was seeing the water column alongside the rail line. This is because the trains would need to refill their water tanks on long journeys because they were steam engines and to make steam you need water to heat.
There are a few other ways to get around Greenfield Village as well. We settled on riding in a real Model T. More on that experience below.
There are a lot options of things to see; we were there four hours and still didn’t see all that Greenfield Village had to offer. But we prioritized the Ford areas, Main Street, the houses and buildings we really wanted to see and a ride in a Model T around the grounds.
First we saw the Ford Home which was relocated here.
The Miller School was under renovation when we visited.
It was then time to hit Main Street. Main Street has really fun features besides just the buildings. There are the Model T tours going around, the other transportation options, workers on bicycles AND the young man who rides around the town on a penny-farthing!
We made our way through the original Ford Motor Company building before ending up at the Model T garage and lined up for a ride.
It cost $12 per person to ride in a Model T. Each is different and you line up under a covered walkway to wait for them to circle back around. They could use some ceiling fans in the waiting area (there was one large fan, but you had to be up by the cars to feel it), but the line moved reasonably well with multiple cars on the go and a short track through town.
Here’s a video of the experience:
On we continued around Main Street and Greenfield Village.
The tintype was mostly out of fashion by 1929 but Ford had them add a tintype studio for the grand opening thinking that people would love being able to take a picture of themselves on the day and take it home with them. So much so that he rushed it into existence in the week leading up to the grand opening. Unfortunately, it rained that day and it never really took off like he’d hoped. This is the original building from 1929.
One of the major exhibits at Greenfield Village is the original and replica laboratories and other buildings from the work and life of Thomas Edison.
You can also see some elements of black history throughout Greenfield Village, slave quarters, a replica cabin that was visited by George Washington Carver, a free black family’s house and more.
Built in the 1600s, we had to stop in to see the Cotswold buildings. They’re just as cute as they are in England.
Noah Webster is who we have to thank for the American way of spelling the English language. His home is available to see with information about his life and his life’s work – the American Dictionary.
One of my favorite buildings was the Logan County Court House where Abraham Lincoln practiced law on the circuit.
You might remember that we visited the Heinz Museum in Pittsburgh, PA. The Heinz House is at Greenfield Village with exhibits inside about the Heinz family and company.
There’s even more that we saw that we haven’t shared here. We were on site for four hours and still only scraped the surface of what’s available at Greenfield Village and The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation. We plan to dedicate an entire visit to the area to take in more of the museum in the future.
There are all kinds of ticketing options when visiting these museums. You can get a ticket just for Greenfield Village, a ticket just for The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, tickets for both that are valid for a couple of days so that you have enough time to see them, a Ford Rouge factory tour and more.
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