About The Henry Ford
The Henry Ford is the umbrella name for the museum complex Henry Ford built in Dearborn, Michigan, to hold the everyday objects, machines and buildings he thought told the real story of American life. Originally called the Edison Institute, it was dedicated on October 21, 1929, with President Herbert Hoover present, on the fiftieth anniversary of Thomas Edison's incandescent lamp. The campus at 20900 Oakwood Boulevard was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1981. With more than 1.7 million visitors a year, it is the largest indoor-outdoor museum complex in the country.
Four attractions make up the visit. The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation is a 12-acre indoor hall whose signature artifacts include the Montgomery city bus on which Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, the Lincoln limousine in which President Kennedy was riding in Dallas, and the rocking chair Abraham Lincoln occupied at Ford's Theatre. Greenfield Village, spread across roughly 240 acres with about 90 in active use, is an outdoor history museum of nearly 100 relocated or reconstructed buildings, among them Thomas Edison's Menlo Park laboratory, the Wright brothers' Dayton cycle shop and home, and, newly opened, the Selma, Alabama, home of Dr. Sullivan and Richie Jean Sherrod Jackson, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stayed during the 1965 voting-rights marches. Model T rides, a steam railroad and a 1930 Ford bus move visitors around the village. The Ford Rouge Factory Tour takes groups into the working Dearborn Truck Plant, and the Giant Screen Experience shows large-format films.
The institution's collection totals some 26 million artifacts, which it brands the Henry Ford Archive of American Innovation; more than 100,000 items have been digitized and can be searched free on the website. Rotating exhibitions in 2026 include "Handmade: The Crafting of America" and an America 250 program of events.
Collections and Research Services
The Benson Ford Research Center, on the same campus, is the archive and library of The Henry Ford. It holds the institution's manuscript, photograph and trade-literature collections, including Ford Motor Company historical records, and serves historians, automotive researchers and families tracing relatives who worked for Ford. Reading-room hours, appointment rules and any reproduction fees are set by the research center, so check the Collections and Research section of the website before planning a trip; the digital collections search is the fastest way to find out whether a photograph or document exists before you ask staff. For context on tracing an industrial-era Detroit family, our guide to free family history research covers the census, city directory and naturalization sources that pair well with corporate archives, and old city directories explains how to follow a worker's address year by year.
Planning Your Visit
The campus is at the corner of Village Road and Oakwood Boulevard, just west of the Southfield Freeway (M-39) and south of Michigan Avenue (US-12). The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation is open daily 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Day). Greenfield Village runs on a seasonal calendar: daily in summer, Tuesday to Sunday in spring and fall, Friday to Sunday in October and November, and closed in December except for holiday programs; check the online hours page before you go. Posted online prices for a single venue are about $34 to $39 for the museum and $37 to $39 for the village, with a $24 Rouge tour, combination tickets, a 10 percent senior discount, 25 percent off for ages 5 to 11 and free entry for children 4 and under; parking is $10 per vehicle (free for members). Full details are at thehenryford.org. For statewide research help, the Historical Society of Michigan in Lansing coordinates local societies across the state.
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