On the Greenfield Village Green

I am splitting the Village into two posts because there is a lot to cover- the first will be the NON Edison & personal Ford stuff and the second will focus on the two key players in the themes of the outdoor museum-

Here is an outdoor view of the Eagle Tavern where we dined midday on historic fare... (see prior post)

It sits on the Village Green - the top of which is occupied by the village church

During the day we see many families out riding in their early model Ford cars- and later we will see the shop where Ford came up with his first sketches for the automobiles he would eventually use to build an empire.

When he decided to open Greenfield Village the driving force seemed to be his adulation of Edison, who he knew quite well (they lived in the same compound in Ft. Myers FL) but the workshops of others he admired were also incorporated into this open air historical museum - the most notable being the Wright brothers but below is a log cabin replica of the one where George Washington Carver was born and raised.  Carver even spent a night here in this cabin on this property immediately after the dedication ceremony honoring him and his work. (We doubted the original was as well landscaped)

a courthouse where Lincoln actually rode the circuit before holding elected office-

scenes from the local doctor's office (he studied medicine but never graduated- close enough, in those days I guess)

the village theater- opposite the Church on the Village Green... some message there I think- LOL

a carousel of sizable proportion - unlikely to have been found in a town the size of this one but nevertheless saved from the scrap yard and lovingly restored to grandeur.

the local jewelry shop now sells chocolates and "penny" candy

Then we visited a jewelry shop where Henry Ford actually shopped before and after he became a famous and wealthy man- the jeweler was a friend and Ford, as a youth, had asked his assistance in putting back together a pocket watch Ford had taken apart but couldn't get to work again upon rebuilding it... a decades long relationship ensued.  Upon his death, the man left his shop (lock, stock and barrel, as they say) to Ford.

The Wright's shop and home are both located here -

the shop below - the home above-

the town milliner - who had been married to the town haberdasher before his untimely demise left her a widow-

from Main Street we went to the industrial and workshop area of town- first stop was a machine shop that did milling and fabrication of all kinds of metal - brass milling demonstrations were held for the younger visitors and they could make their own tiny candle stick holder-

on to the mill that ran power for milling grains-

then to the workshops which showed historical phases of weaving on looms -

then a print shop-

a tin shop which fabricates lanterns and other useful items-

from here we went to the area dominated by the Ford personal and automotive history and the Edison laboratories of Menlo Park - brought here complete with the dirt from under the foundations!

follow along in the next post!