Greenfield Village
07.28.06 By Lorraine NewberryThis summer my family and I went to Greenfield Village in Dearborn, MI, which is a fun place to visit for those of us who like old stuff. Greenfield Village is 90 acres of exploration into American history. It was founded by Henry Ford, the automaking legend, in 1933 and is built to resemble a village of the 1800s.
The Main Street portion of the park features shops that might be seen in a village of the era. A millinery shop has a display of original hats from the 1800s, as well as replicas for visitors to try on. The tintype studio shows tintype photographs and the equipment used to make them, and a jewelry store contains jewelry that would be found in a typical jeweler’s of the late 1800s, including a nice selection of mourning jewelry. And the Wright Cycle Shop, the original building where Orville and Wilbur Wright earned their income while building their famous airplane, shows old-time bicycles and the equipment the Wrights used to make them.
In addition the the Wright Cycle Shop, buildings like Henry Ford’s birthplace, Thomas Edison’s workshop and the home where Noah Webster penned his first dictionary were moved to Greenfield Village from their original locations. Greenfield Village also contains many plantation houses, cabins, cottages and family homes including a Cotswold cottage from the early 1600s.
Kids can ride on a 1913 Carousel with the original brightly colored horses, frogs and chickens. An old-fashioned steam engine train carries visitors around the perimeter of the park, with whistle tooting and black smoke issuing from its stack. A horse drawn omnibus stops at different locations around the village, and car enthusiasts will enjoy riding around in a restored Model T or a 1931 Model AA bus.
While older kids and adults will most appreciate a visit to Greenfield Village, smaller ones can also enjoy themselves, and my little Thomas the Tank Engine enthusiasts particularly loved the train ride and the engine roundhouse and turntable.
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Article Tags: Greenfield, Henry Ford, historic================
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