Greenfield Village, photo by Michael Lavander

“I am collecting the history of our people as written into things their hands made and used…. When we are through, we shall have reproduced American life as lived, and that, I think, is the best way of preserving at least a part of our history and tradition.”
~Henry Ford on his museum

Greenfield Village in Dearborn (satellite map) is part of The Henry Ford, dubbed America’s Greatest History Attraction. If you’ve ever been to either, you know that’s not just a marketing slogan. Greenfield Village has seven historic districts that are jam packed with historical buildings & artifacts from all over:

Entering Greenfield Village is like stepping into an 80-acre time machine. It takes you back to the sights, sounds and sensations of America’s past. There are 83 authentic, historic structures, from Noah Webster’s home, where he wrote the first American dictionary, to Thomas Edison’s Menlo Park laboratory, to the courthouse where Abraham Lincoln practiced law. The buildings and the things to see are only the beginning. There’s the fun stuff, too. In Greenfield Village, you can ride in a genuine Model T or “pull” glass with world-class artisans; you can watch 1867 baseball or ride a train with a 19th-century steam engine. It’s a place where you can choose your lunch from an 1850s menu or spend a quiet moment pondering the home and workshop where the Wright brothers invented the airplane. Greenfield Village is a celebration of people — people whose unbridled optimism came to define modern-day America.

Michael took this photo at the museum’s opening day and you can see it bigger in his Greenfield Village 041510 slideshow.

Need more? Check out the Greenfield Village slideshow from the Absolute Michigan pool and more posts about Greenfield Village on Michigan in Pictures.

Enjoy your weekend and remember that Michigan’s museums need your patronage more than ever!