Restoration Projects Mark Opening of Greenfield Village's 84th Season

Opening day for Greenfield Village is Monday, and crews have been hard at work prepping all of the village's attractions for the thousands of visitors who enter The Henry Ford's gates every year.

This season promises to be even bigger and better as it marks the celebration of Henry Ford's 150th birthday.

"We have a lot of new projects underway this year in the village," Jim Johnson, senior manager of program operations said.

Chief among those is the restoration of the 1897 Baldwin 4-4-0 locomotive owned by Ford after he purchased the DT&I Railroad in the 1920s.

"We've been working on this restoration project for about 10 years and the aesthetic work is done," Johnson said. "We are working on some maintenance repairs, but we hope to have the locomotive out of The Roundhouse and in service very soon."

Beginning this summer, construction will commence on a new 50-foot coal tower replica that will be installed next to the Smith Creek station between the train depot and water tower. Johnson said the tower will be used to store coal for all of the village's operable locomotives.

Other notable projects include an addition to the kiln room in the village's pottery house, and foundation and restorative repairs to the Adams House beginning in the summer.

"We plan to keep the pottery area open, but due to the foundation shifting underneath the Adams House, we will have to close that exhibit for the season," Johnson said. "There will continue to be some other minor painting and repairs going on throughout the rest of the village, but most attractions should be accessible."

The Adams House was George Mathew Adams boyhood home. Adams, a Michigan newspaper columnist, wrote motivational and self-reliance stories. The house also served as the first Baptist parsonage in Michigan.

In honor of Ford's birthday, Johnson said several events are in the works, including a presentation at the Miller School, a replica of a school Ford attended classes at in Springwells Township.

"Visitors can experience young Henry's informal education and tinker with clock parts, machines and principles that challenged him," Johnson said.

The program will begin Father's Day weekend.

In addition, a play depicting Henry Ford's life performed by village actors will take place daily through Aug. 18 at the Model T station.

Other activities include a demonstration at Firestone Farm to watch the newest additions to the village's barnyard family. Costumed presenters will hand-sheer the grown Merino sheep just as they did in the 19th century. Spectators can even lend a hand at the Daggett Farmhouse in sorting, picking, washing, carding and spinning wool after the Merino sheep are shorn.

"Stroll through 300 years of history and journey into the sights, sounds and sensations of America’s past that inspired Henry Ford. See what life was like for a young Henry when you step inside his birth home, explore the workshop where he built his very first motorized vehicle or take a ride around the village inside his most famous invention- the Model T," the village said in a press release.

For more information and a calendar of upcoming events, visit The Henry Ford's website, or call 313-9820-6001.