Ford's Field of Dreams

Yesterday we spent the afternoon in The Henry Ford Museum. That was the inside part of place. On the outside is Greenfield Museum, which I thought was simply a village to replicate the buildings and the times. Not so fast there Willie. My judgment on this was my perception that I had visited the actual Wright Cycle Shop in Dayton OH back in 2008 for my first IBA National Park Tour. With a little bit of research I found I was defrauded (a bit of an overstatement) by the NP Service in Dayton. That was a replica. Henry Ford had procured the Wright Shop for himself and moved the building brick by brick to Dearborn. This gave me a whole new perspective on what I was seeing.

Some facts. Greenfield Village is the largest outdoor museum in the US. About 100 building were moved from their original settings and arranged in the village, with the intent to recreate how Americans lived and worked since the founding of the country. As you walk around the folks are dressed in period attire and speak like they would back then. It is a total immersion into history.
Getting around is pretty simple if you purchase the all day ride anything you want pass. This is in addition to the entrance fee and well worth the cost. Your choices are the train, horse drawn bus, Model T's (authentic) and Model AA delivery trucks. Inside the buildings you can see how glass is blown. pottery made, and cooking. On top of all this, there is an actual school here for grades 2 thru 9. Makes learning history a see and feel event versus fall asleep lecture from the front of the classroom. How cool is that.

CLICK HERE for a slide show 
(just in case you don't want to read)
(really not much to read thou)

Crappy Picture but where we stayed in Dearborn

The Entrance to the Village

MeAsWe figuring out what we are gonna see

Adding authenticity to the village. Folks working the fields. I can't imagine doing this in July and August
I wonder if they are covered by the UAW.

Glass blowing is in the building nest to the red one

Crystal's favorite furnace

A lot of work to get to this.

DT&M Roundhouse built around 1884

Actual Roundhouse moved to the Village

Cars to ride around in the Village

Delivery Trucks

Buses

And of course the horse. Ford didn't assembly the horse.

Menlo Park inventing the electric light bulb

Day began with a train ride and ended with one.