American History, Americana, and the Industrial Age

Travel Back in Time in Henry Ford’s Greenfield Village

Walk through Thomas Edison’s laboratory, visit the Wright bicycle shop, and tour a courthouse where Abraham Lincoln practiced law, all in one place in Michigan

Steam locomotive “Edison” on the tracks in Greenfield Village. Built by Manchester Locomotive Works in Manchester, New Hampshire, in 1875 as a 0–4–0 engine, Henry Ford had it rebuilt to a 4–4–0 in 1932. The engine was originally operated by Edison Portland Cement Company. © 2022 Randy Runtsch.

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t — you’re right.” ― Henry Ford

Henry Ford (1863–1947) was an American automobile developer, industrialist, business magnate, and the founder of the Ford Motor Company. He was also the primary developer of the assembly line technique used in mass production. After becoming one of the wealthiest and most well-known people in the world, Ford applied his interest in Americana by collecting historic buildings in Greenfield Village in his hometown of Dearborn, Michigan.

Henry J. (H.J.) Heinz, of Heinz ketchup fame, started a food processing business in his parents’ house in Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1869. This house was moved to Greenfield Village in 1954, the first addition to the living history museum since Henry Ford’s death in 1947.

Greenfield Village is the Henry Ford complex’s outdoor living history museum section. The complex also includes the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation. The village opened to the public in 1933.