Greenfield Village Open-Air Museum

The following post was written by Nicole from Dining in Detroit , a blog dedicated to...well...the fine food one can find in the Detroit area. She has done a wonderful job in writing about a subject one rarely thinks about when visiting Greenfield Village: eating ! ~~~~~~~~~~~ The Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village is a phenomenal collection of local historical artifacts, a treasure trove of Detroit's automotive history (and by extension, America's industrial history), as well as an elaborate piece of preserved Americana: "American's Greatest History Attraction." But did you know that the food service program in both the Museum and the Village (including the Village's full-service restaurant, Eagle Tavern) is one of the most passionately and progressively locally-sourced menus in metro Detroit? 'Tis true. When Director of Food Services and Catering Jesse Eisenhuth took over the operations just a few short months ago, he saw that there w

From its inception over 80 years ago through today, Greenfield Village has gone through numerous layouts, which is no easy task considering that it is actual buildings - historic buildings - that are being moved. I'm sure with each change there were complaints. Well, of course, unless it was Mr. Ford's idea. No one disagreed with the Big Guy. But, even with the last major restructuring in 2003 their were disgruntled customers. My opinion is as long as it's kept historically accurate, I don't mind. What I thought I'd do here was to show, through original six maps from six different decades, the ever-growing and ever-changing history of Greenfield Village. To see the graphics larger, please click onto the photo. Our first map takes us back to October 29, 1929 - that very first rainy day that Henry Ford opened up his Greenfield Village to special guests. Here was Mr. Ford's original vision: Twelve years later, in 1941, one can see just how much the Village grew:

Table of Contents Structures Ackley Covered Bridge Adams Family Home Adams Family Home Mourning Presentation A & S Machine Shop aka Armington & Sims Shop & Foundry Bagley Avenue Workshop Sir John Bennett Sweet Shop Blacksmith Shop Luther Burbank Birthplace Luther Burbank Office Cape Cod Windmill) Carousel ( Herschell-Spillman ) George Washington Carver Cabin Chapman Family Home Cider Mill ( Martinsville Cider Mill) ) The Clinton Inn ( The Eagle Tavern ) Cohen Millinery Shop Cotswold Cottage Cotswold Cottage Dovecote Cotswold Forge Daggett Farmhouse The Eagle Tavern ( The Clinton Inn ) Edison's Fort Meyer, Florida Laboratory Edison Homestead Edison Illuminating Company Edison Menlo Park Laboratory Edison Menlo Park Glass House Edison's Menlo Park Machine Shop Thomas Edison's Menlo Park Office and Library Edison Menlo Park Woodworking Shop Fairfield Rice Mill) ( Pottery Shop

I have been continuing my research on the structures of Greenfield Village - albeit a bit more slowly than I would like - and have found some fascinating facts and stories that seemingly bring the old buildings to life. Here are some of the postings that have been updated and I have added to since I originally wrote the information: Dr. Howard's Office Ackley Covered Bridge The Clinton Inn aka The Eagle Tavern .

One of the nicest "activities" to do at Greenfield Village is to take a guided tour around the open-air museum in one of the omnibuses on hand. Omnibuses were most often large, enclosed horse-drawn vehicles used for public transportation and for general utilities in 19th century cities. However, Greenfield Village uses a smaller style omnibus that was sometimes referred to as an 'opera' or 'private' bus. These smaller 'buses had comfortable, roomy seating, easily accommodating four to six passengers. It made an ideal carriage for family shopping excursions during the day, and a convenient carry-all for evening when, perhaps, several members of the family went to supper or to the opera. Because of their rear door entry it was usually backed up to a curb for entry and exit. The drivers of the omnibuses at Greenfield Village are a wonderful source of information, telling historical facts about many of the numerous structures you will see on your horse-drawn

~ We come from the land of the ice and snow... I would enjoy winter more if my favorite historical out-door museum, Greenfield Village, would remain open during January, February, and March. You see, by the 1st of December they close up the Village for daytime visitors and only remain open for their special Christmas Holiday Nights evenings. Though the adjacent indoor Henry Ford Museum stays open year 'round, Greenfield Village closes its gates after Christmas. I never quite understood this. I can maybe see not remaining open during weekdays, but how cool would it be to visit on a Saturday or Sunday and be able to take a horse-drawn sleigh ride? Or, during the late winter (and early spring) allowing folks to watch and possibly partake in maple sugaring? They wouldn't need to open all of their houses as they normally do; they instead could have the two 'main' houses - the 1880's Firestone Farm and 1760's Daggett Farm, which are located