Greenfield Village Open-Air Museum

Walking around Greenfield Village at night can be, in itself, kind of creepy, with all the old 18th and 19th century homes, but add to that the Hallowe'en touch and it becomes scary fun. Wow! does the Village do a spectacular (or is it "spook" tacular?) job for this holiday! "TO THE COVERED BRIDGE!!!" Hallowe'en at Greenfield Village, like nearly everything else they do, is a historically fun time. No, patrons do not enter the houses, for they are historic structures and therefore are closed up. Instead, throughout the Village, they have different scenarios taking place. For instance, over at the Edison's Menlo Park Machine Shop , a mad scientist scene unfolds as colonial-dressed characters shout to the crowd to beware of the 'missing monster' who escaped from the laboratory and ran "toward the covered bridge!" You may catch a glimpse of the scientist's monstrous creation peeking through the windows of the shop - keep your eyes peel...

Summertime may be an exciting time at Greenfield Village, but I believe that it's in the Autumn time of year that the Village truly shines, for that's when the traditions we hold so dear come to the forefront. Let's begin the tour with the sights: witness smoke pouring out of the chimneys of the farms and homes as you stroll under the trees with leaves of red, orange, yellow, and even brown and green - colors that one may not find in their own neighborhoods that seem to add that fall flavor as you stroll through the streets of the past. Most of the structures throughout the Village are open during the fall season, however, once again the main presentations concentrate on the two farms, Firestone (19th century), and Daggett (18th century), as they prepare for the winter months ahead. And, believe me when I say that the presenters at these two farms do it right! We'll begin with Daggett - - - - To give a bit of background here, I shall quote from Senior Manager of...

Summertime and the livin' is easy... There aren't too many places one can enjoy summers of days gone by like they can at Greenfield Village. The atmosphere alone will allow the visitor to time-travel to a summer from a hundred years or more into the past. And, if the opportunity arises to visit the Village during a balmy weekday - away from the weekend crowds - one can immerse themselves even deeper into another time and place. A visit to the 1880's Firestone Farm is always a good place to begin. This is where the visitor can see that the heat and humidity of summer does not - can- not - prevent the daily chores from being done. To fully appreciate how our ancestors lived without air-conditioning is to see the women of the house prepare and cook a hearty meal on a wood-burning stove: weeding and picking the vegetables from the kitchen garden, slicing and dicing them on the kitchen table, heading to the cellar for meat, retrieving water from the hand-pump near the dairy she...

(I must apologize to the readers of this blog. For some reason I over-looked this building while putting this blog together. When I am able to afford an actual site, it will surely be placed in its rightful order) From what I understand, this structure, built in Lawrenceville (now part of Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania, in 1830, was purchased by Henry Ford in 1934 and placed inside Greenfield Village a year later. It was during this time when Ford was truly providing a safe 'haven' for the country's historic houses as many, including what was thought to be Stephen Foster's birthplace, were in terrible shape or were in dilapidated areas. Houses like this probably would not have lasted another decade where they originally stood. The large hallway that separates the house in two. This is facing the front door. Stephen Foster was probably the foremost composer of popular music of the 19th century. His tunes, including "Camptown Races," "Old Folks at Home (aka Way ...

Every Memorial Day weekend the folks at Greenfield Village pull out all the stops to pay homage to our American heroes who fought (and are still fighting) in the armed forces. They do this by reenacting the battles and the homefront of the war from which Memorial Day actually has its roots, the Civil War. To give a brief history of Memorial Day: Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. There are many stories as to its actual beginnings, with over two dozen cities and towns laying claim to being the birthplace of Memorial Day. There is also evidence that organized women's groups in the South were decorating graves before the end of the Civil War: a hymn published in 1867, "Kneel Where Our Loves are Sleeping" by Nella L. Sweet carried the dedication "To The Ladies of the South who are Decorating the Graves of the Confederate Dead." (There is also evidence that these ladies also de...

Until I began frequenting the Benson-Ford Research Center, located on the grounds of The Henry Ford (where one can search for historical records and photographs of everything Greenfield Village), I had not given a second thought as to what went into the displays and presentations at the open-air museum. Much of what you are about to read in this chapter comes directly from the training manuals given to the presenters. Period-dressed presenters eating dinner at the Daggett Farm First off is the Mission Statement of The Henry Ford: "The Henry Ford provides unique educational experiences based on authentic objects, stories, and lives from America's traditions of ingenuity, resourcefulness and innovation. Our purpose is to inspire people to learn from these traditions to help shape a better future. " Authentic. This is the key word. Nothing is placed randomly inside the structures at the Village. The curators carefully consider every object before allowing it to b...