The Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village are amazing!! They are situated in Dearborn only 8 miles from Detroit.  The Henry Ford Museum contains one of the nations most impressive collections of Americana and automotive history.  Talk about trains, planes and automobiles ...!

The Henry Ford Museum was formerly known as the Edison Institute, named after Henry Ford's longtime friend, Thomas Edison and dedicated to Thomas Edison on 21 October 1929, the 50th anniversary of the first successful incandescent light bulb. It began as Henry Ford's personal collection of historical objects, started in 1906.

The museum is a vast building -  12 acres under one roof - home to everything from the Kennedy limousine to a rare reproduction of the Declaration of Independence, from the chair in which Abraham Lincoln was assassinated at the Ford Theatre in 1865 to a magnificent DC3 aeroplane.

The collection of trains begins with a model train display with 10 to 12 trains of varying length running through countryside and towns, in and out of tunnels, around hills and beside rivers. What fun!

Then to one of the largest steam locomotives ever built, the 1941 Allegheny which was designed for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway.

The collection of cars was comprehensive covering more than a century.

There is a collection of early aeroplanes including that of the Wright Brothers and the displays take you through the early history of flight. There is even a display which simulates the effect of flying so that you imagine yourself soaring into the air.

Greenfield Village covers 81 acres filled with the sights, sounds and even tastes of 300 years of American life. Nearly 100 historical buildings were moved to the property from their original locations and arranged in a 'village' setting. It includes buildings from the 17th century to the present many of which are staffed by costumed interpreters who will explain whose home or factory the building belonged to and in some cases give exhibitions of craft or aspects of the industry that was conducted there.. Essentially it shows how Americans have lived and worked since the
founding of the country.

The Wright Brothers home and workshop, Henry Ford's home, Thomas Edison's Menlo Park laboratory, the courthouse where Abraham Lincoln
first practiced law just to mention a few of the buildings.



It was a huge day.  We walked from 9.30am to 5.00pm. Then we hit busy traffic coming out of Detroit the city of cars!
What a step back in time though and how lucky were we that someone on our travels suggested we visit.