8 Fascinating Things You Probably Didn't Know About The Henry Ford In Michigan
By Serena Maria Daniels|Published April 08, 2016
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Serena Maria Daniels
Author
Serena Maria Daniels is an award-winning freelance journalist in Detroit, by way of Chicago, by way of the West Coast. She writes about Michigan for OIYS. Serena enjoys learning about language and culture and taking road trips with her beagle Ralph.
The Henry Ford, situated in Dearborn in southeast Michigan, is a massive indoor and outdoor shrine to innovations made in American history that have had a lasting effect on our society.
Its collection contains a huge array of artifacts that are unlike most other museums across the country. The entire homes of historical figures, the vehicles that presidents rode, even a replica of the first plane flown by the Wright brothers can all be found here.
The complex, made up of the indoor Henry Ford Museum and the outdoor Greenfield Village, is the largest of its kind in the United States. Check it out.
Obviously innovations in the automotive industry are highlighted throughout this museum (I mean, it's named after the godfather of the modern vehicle). Here, you'll find a range of innovations, including this 1896 Ford Quadricycle Runabout.
Also on the automotive beat, the museum houses a number of vehicles that transported several 20th-century American presidents, including Theodore Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, and John F. Kennedy.
The Ford has an impressive collection of the locomotives that led to the expansion of the American frontier. Pictured here, a Chesapeake & Ohio Railway 2-6-6-6 "Allegheny"-class steam locomotive, built by Lima Locomotive Works. It's considered the most powerful steam locomotive ever built.
The museum focuses a great detail on the pains historical figures took to secure equality for all. Pictured here, the bus Rosa Parks was arrested in when she refused to give up her seat during the Civil Rights Movement.
An entire exhibit is dedicated to the aviators who made history in the sky, including famous aircraft like the Fokker Trimotor, the first plane to fly over the North Pole, an exact replica of the original 1903 Wright Flyer, and a 1939 DC-3 plane.
Greenfield Village is the outdoor museum section of the complex that spreads across more than 80 acres. Here, you'll encounter the actual structures where some of America's most influential lived and worked. Pictured here, the home of Noah Webster, the inventor of the modern-day dictionary.
8. Wilbur and Orville Wright's house and bicycle shop.
Ford was a big fan of the work of the Wright Brothers, the pioneering innovators of aviation. Thus, it's appropriate to see remnants of their legacy throughout The Henry Ford complex. Pictured here, the Wright house and bicycle shop.
Now this place actually makes learning all encompassing. Tell us, what are some of your favorite memories of visits at The Henry Ford?
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