Skip to content
Old USA

Greenfield Village

Dearborn, Michigan · Established 1929

Plan your visit ↓
George Washington Carver Cabin, Greenfield Village.

w_lemay · CC BY-SA · via Wikimedia Commons

— Why it matters —

Why It Matters

Henry Ford's tribute to the ordinary tools and workshops of American innovation, built by relocating the actual laboratory of Thomas Edison and the actual home of the Wright brothers to a single Michigan village.

— Chronological ledger —

The History

Henry Ford, who had grown wealthy revolutionizing manufacturing with the automobile, spent much of his later life obsessed with preserving the everyday tools, homes, and workshops of American innovation and rural life before they disappeared. Rather than build replicas, Ford insisted on relocating authentic historic structures piece by piece from across the country, assembling them into a single village on his property in Dearborn, Michigan.

The village's centerpiece was Thomas Edison's entire Menlo Park laboratory complex, which Ford had disassembled in New Jersey and rebuilt in Dearborn down to the smallest details, reportedly even importing New Jersey soil to surround it. Ford dedicated Greenfield Village on October 21, 1929, exactly 50 years after Edison's invention of the practical incandescent light bulb, in a ceremony called 'Light's Golden Jubilee' attended by Edison himself alongside President Herbert Hoover.

Ford continued adding structures in the years that followed, including the actual boyhood home and bicycle shop of the Wright brothers, relocated from Dayton, Ohio, where the brothers had developed their earliest ideas about flight. More than 80 historic buildings now make up the village, which operates today as part of The Henry Ford, a larger complex that also includes the adjacent Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation.

— Chronicle —

Through the Years

  1. 1929

    Henry Ford dedicates Greenfield Village on October 21, 'Light's Golden Jubilee,' with Thomas Edison in attendance

  2. 1930s

    Ford continues relocating historic buildings, including the Wright Brothers' home and shop

— Curated registry —

The Archive

— The record —

Facts & Figures

Founding

Founder
Henry Ford
Opened
1929, dedicated on the 50th anniversary of Edison's light bulb

History

Dedication event
'Light's Golden Jubilee,' attended by Thomas Edison himself
Edison connection
Contains Thomas Edison's entire relocated Menlo Park laboratory complex
Wright Brothers
Includes their boyhood home and bicycle shop, moved from Dayton, Ohio

Scale

Buildings
More than 80 historic structures relocated from around the country

Today

Operator
Part of The Henry Ford complex, alongside the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation

The Register

Established
1929
Builder
Henry Ford (founder)
Area of significance
Technology, Education, Social History
— Visitor questions —

Frequently Asked

Why did Henry Ford build Greenfield Village?

Ford wanted to preserve the everyday workshops, homes, and tools of American innovation and daily life, believing that ordinary history was as important to remember as famous battles and monuments.

Is Thomas Edison's actual laboratory really there?

Yes. Ford had Edison's entire Menlo Park laboratory complex relocated from New Jersey to the village, reconstructing it in detail.

What is the Wright Brothers' connection to the village?

The village includes the Wright brothers' actual boyhood home and bicycle shop, both relocated from Dayton, Ohio, where they developed their early aviation ideas.

What was 'Light's Golden Jubilee'?

The October 1929 dedication ceremony for Greenfield Village, held on the 50th anniversary of Thomas Edison's invention of the practical incandescent light bulb, with Edison himself in attendance.

— Continue the expedition —

Related Landmarks