A Field Trip to Greenfield Village

There is a wonderful place not too far from me in Dearborn, Michigan. It's the Henry Ford Museum / Greenfield Village. It's a trip through American culture and history.

The Village is a wonderful place. There you will find interesting places like the Wright Brothers bicycle shop where they built their first airplane. Thomas Edisons laboratory is there. There are actual slave quarters from the south. Daniel Websters home is there. There are so many historical homes that have been moved there from all across the country. It's an incredible place to experience our history. All of the buildings are original; having been purchased or donated and moved to the village to be preserved. I remember going to Greenfield Village when I was a child in elementary school. Every building just smells OLD... It's incredible. When you walk through some of the buildings you can almost feel the spirits of the time move within you. The slave quarters for instance.. housed a couple families with bare minimum wood floors, brick walls, and small windows. When I walked in that particular building you could feel the 'angst' that lived within those walls... yet at the same time you could feel the hope of the spiritual people that lived there.

The picture above is of one of the slave quarters.

Before the Village, is the Henry Ford Museum. This museum 'documents' our American culture through the years. There are so many interesting things to see! Some of the favorites among visitors: This is the chair Lincoln was sitting in at the Ford theater when he was killed by John Wilkes Booth. There is a darkening at the top of the chair that is a combination of Lincolns hair tonic and blood from the bullet wound. The chair is now encased in glass.

This is the limousine that President Kennedy rode in on that fateful day in November in Dallas. For years the back windows had been 'fogged' so you couldn't see into the vehicle. They cleared the windows a couple years ago. You can't help but stand there and cry as they play the video of that day.

This is another view of the limo.

This is the bus Rosa Parks rode in when she refused to give up her seat. It was donated to the museum two years ago. They completely restored the bus back to it's original state at the time she made that wonderful decision to stand her ground. Go Rosa!

This is the original McDonald's neon sign from their first 'golden arches' restaurant. It's huge in person!

If you're ever in Michigan you really should stop in and see this incredible place of history!

For more information check out http://www.thehenryford.com/.