Greenfield Village Open-Air Museum

As a member of The Henry Ford, I visit Greenfield Village a few times a month. Sometimes I'll head there in the morning just to walk around for a couple hours to clear my head before heading off to work in the afternoon. I must say, I never return home without learning something new. And, because the events are broken down according to the season of the year, there are always opportunities to learn even more about life as lived. For instance, come mid-April, when the Village re-opens after being closed for the winter, one can enter the season of springtime of long ago. It's this time of year when the visitor can see just how folks of the 18th and 19th centuries awakened from their 'long winter's nap' and prepared their homes and land for the coming season. At Firestone Farm , for example, one will see that the wall hangings in the sitting room have been taken down for cleaning; the walls are wiped, and the rugs are beaten to rid them of months of dust and dirt. From...

This posting is about a near historic tragedy concerning this very important boarding house. If you would like to read about this historic home's history, please click HERE , otherwise read on to find how we very nearly lost a very important piece of not only American history but world history as well. The following is an article that I wrote for the February 2009 newsletter of the Civil War unit I belong to. I did not include the names of the workers as I would like to get their permission first. On Monday January 5, a fire broke out at the Sarah Jordan Boarding House in Greenfield Village and caused heavy damage to the duplex. Many of the original artifacts have been lost, although most were saved. The cause is suspected to be from some roof / gutter construction. All of us who love visiting the Village – whether as re-enactors or as patrons - have been greatly saddened by this awful occurrence. But, there is a bright side to this as well; fortunately, this 1870 duplex was...