Description: When I tell you that we were blown away by Greenfield Village I am not exaggerating. I was absolutely in awe of the buildings that Henry Ford managed to acquire. Before I tell you all about the wonderful things we saw I will give you a few general tips.
First if you are going to go to the Henry Ford Museum, buy a combination ticket. It will save you from paying the $5 parking fee twice. Even if you come on two separate days, which by the way I highly recommend you will only pay one parking fee. Second but the transportation bracelet, it is so worth it. For $10 additional you get to ride on the train, the Model T Fords, The Omnibus, the Old Fashioned bus and the merry-go-round as many times as you would like.
As soon as we came through the gates we bought our bracelet and hopped on the train, somehow it seemed like the perfect thing to do. There is a conductor/guide on board who will give you a tour of sorts. Our was a female whose name I have forgotten but she told us to sit in the first seat because it was quite brisk out and there is a shield that will protect you from the worst of the wind if you are in the first seat, the cars are open to the air.
You get a good overview of the village on the train and it takes I guess about 45 minutes to make the round. There are several other stops along the way so you can choose to get off.
What you will learn is that Greenfield Village was designed to be a live classroom for the school that is still on the property. If these students couldn’t go where the history was, history was brought to them. Pretty amazing really, it is like an outdoor Smithsonian.
Okay why should you come all the way to Dearborn Michigan to see Greenfield Village? Where else can you walk into a courthouse where Abraham Lincoln actually argued cases and see a cabinet that he and his father made? Where else can you tour Robert Frost’s House, Noah Webster’s House and the Wright Brother’s Shop and Home? These are just the tip of the iceberg. The original ford family home is here as is the firestone farm, slaves cabins from a southern plantation, a very early Cape Code windmill and a 17th century Connecticut farmhouse. These and much, much more will give you a day or more of entertainment, it certainly did for us.
We had lunch at the Eagle Tavern which I wrote about in another review, it is a 19th century stage coaching house and offers a very authentic menu and atmosphere.
We loved riding in the Model T around the village and yes we did take a carousel ride too. We rode everything our ticket covered at least once.
There is a large and very well stocked gift shop as well so if you are looking for a souvenir of your visit, there are plenty to be had.
We loved Greenfield Village and for the life of us we can’t imagine why we have never heard about it. It has to be the best kept secret in the country.
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