Greenfield Village

On Tuesday, we went to Greenfield Village. It was started in 1933 by Henry Ford, covers nearly 80 acres and is home to nearly 100 historic structures.  Most are from the United States; like Thomas Edison's original lab, moved from Florida.  Some buildings came from Europe - like a cottage that was built in the 1600's in England. There is an old train to ride, horse and carriage rides, Model T rides...  The staff are dressed in period clothing so you really feel like you are stepping back in time.

Here's some pictures of our time there.

We started the day with a ride in an antique car.  We went all around the village and were told about different buildings.

The Wright brothers bicycle shop where they first started working on flight.  This building was moved from Ohio.

This clock tower was moved from England.  It rings on the hour and the figures move around.

A carousel ride!  It was originally in San Francisco, then the state of Washington. It had fallen into disrepair when it was moved and renovated.

This is the courthouse that Abraham Lincoln first argued cases in.  It came from Illinois.

This is Thomas Edisons original lab from Florida.  He and Henry Ford were friends.  When Henry Ford was just starting Greenfield Village, he asked Edison about moving it.  Edison was still using it, but Ford said he would build him a new lab, so Thomas Edison agreed.

Slave homes moved from Georgia.

An old home from New England. When we were there they were preparing a lunch of food from the period for a group of young kids.

This blacksmith shop came from England

So did this cottage.  It was built in the 1600's in the Cotswalds.  It was dismantled and put together brick by brick in Greenfield Village.  The whole interior came too - even the limestone stairs inside that showed the years of wear.

Such a beautiful scene.  The chapel in the background was built in 1929 and is named the Mary-Martha chapel in honor of Henry Ford's mother and mother-in-law.

This covered bridge came from Pennsylvania.

They have a steam engine train!

We enjoyed a ride around the village.

This is Noah Webster of the Webster Dictionary's home - moved from Connecticut.

We had a ride in this carriage.

At this point we were very hot and tired!  We walked over 8 miles and it was so hot and humid.  But we had such fun seeing everything.

We ended the day with some frozen custard which was a big hit.

It was so hot, the sprinkles slid right off the girls custard!  Alaina said she had a mud slide.  :)

I know this is a lot of pictures, but I took lots more!  On top of going through all these things, we saw pottery making, weaving, glass blowing, a working farm...

If you ever have a chance to visit, we highly recommend it!