Greenfiled Village - Dearborn, MI

I had a free ticket to go and it was a nice day, so I decided to go to Greenfield Village in Dearborn yesterday. It has been close to 30 years since I've gone there and I'll have to say that it was worth the trip, although I didn't get to see all of it.

Greenfield Village was started in 1929 by Henry Ford in an effort to preserve a good chunk of Americana. It houses the Menlo Laboratory where Thomas Edison invented the lightbulb, the bicycle shop where the Wright Brothers built the first airplane and a bunch of pieces of Henry Ford's history. Most of these are the original structures moved from their original location and reconstructed in Dearborn. Mr. Ford tried to replicate them as close as he could to their orignal condition. There are also a number of Model T's that you can ride on.

This is a replica of a flour mill.

This is a replica of a machine shop from the late 1800's to the early 1900's. Most of the equipment used in this shop still functions and it is powered by a steam generator. What's amazing is that with the exception of computer controls, many of these machines wouldn't look too terribly out of place in a modern machine shop.

This is a horse drawn bus. The village probably represents a place you would see from the 1890's to the 1920's. Many of the people working there will dress in costumes that represent the era.

This is one of many model T's that roam the village. You can ride them.

An old bike.

Another Model T.



This is a working locomotive that is used to tour the perimeter of the village.

A paddle wheel that you can ride.

This is one of the places where Lincoln practiced law. Mr. Ford went so far as to even bring the original plaster, have it reground and then used it for the walls.

This is a statue of Thomas Alva Edison who Mr. Ford greatly admired. This was cast at about the time Mr. Edison died and was from him actually sitting for it.

This is from the Wright Bicycle Shop, this is a mock up of the Wright Flyer under construction.

This is a replica of Ford's first plant which stood in Detroit. Mr. Ford paid his workers the at the time unheard of rate of $5/day.

This is a cow off one of the farms in the village. They actually grow stuff here.

I'm not sure what this guy is, but he looks like a Forest Ranger. The Village is in the process of restoring a wetland on their property.

Some people farming.

This is a replica of the Firestone (the tire guy) farm.

The train.

A covered bridge.
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This was pretty neat to watch. Every so often they have to clear out the boilers to prevent rust and other things from building up inside.