Everyone is aware of the Smithsonian Museum and it is indeed our greatest museum of American history. However, there is another little known treasure – the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit and I have blogged about it in the past. What an experience. I wish everyone could get to Detroit to see it.
I was recently fortunate enough to go to the outdoor portion of the Henry Ford Museum called Greenfield Village. Mr Ford wanted to preserve the homes of some great Americans and had them moved to this special place in the 1930s brick by brick.
Walking down a tree lined street, complete with Model T’s and horse-drawn carriages, you can see the actual house where Henry lived as a young man, the stately home where Noah Webster lived or where Mr McGuffey of McGuffey Readers lived (next to his one room schoolhouse), Robert Frost’s home, Thomas Edison’s Laboratory from Menlo Park NJ plus the boarding house where his workers lived (the first to have electric lights of course).
It’s a lovely afternoon visit complete with a Tavern from the 1860s that serves meals based on real recipes from those days – and the meals were gooood. Authentic drinks are served as well.
There is a real general store, hat shop, candy store, carousel, the Wright Brothers cycle shop, a Church on the Village Green and so much more. A delightful day for kids of all ages.
