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Discover More About Our Artifacts
The artifacts on display at Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation and Greenfield Village often have very interesting histories. Some of the most popular questions we field at the Benson Ford Research Center are answered below. You’ll also find more information in several other places.
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The Henry Ford
Origins of The Henry Ford
How and why Henry Ford started what would become the premier collection of American innovation, ingenuity and resourcefulness.
The Allegheny Locomotive
Key facts about the Allegheny Locomotive, an H-8 class train designed to pull heavy loads in the Allegheny Mountains in the mid-19th century.
Kennedy Presidential Limousine
The history of the car in which President Kennedy was riding when he was assassinated — and why it doesn’t look like it did then.
The Lincoln Chair
President Abraham Lincoln was sitting in this chair when he was assassinated in 1865.
Herman Miller and The Henry Ford
Learn more about the Herman Miller-related collections The Henry Ford holds.
Ford Rouge Factory Tour: History & Timeline
Henry Ford envisioned the Rouge as a nonstop system from raw materials to finished vehicles — a vision that ultimately produced 4,000 cars a day.
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Historic Innovators
George W. Carver
Throughout George W. Carver’s life, he balanced two interests and talents that may seem at odds — the creative arts and the natural sciences.
Thomas Edison
Pushed from the industry he helped build, Thomas Edison turned 1890s setbacks into a defining legacy.
Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks turned a single act of defiance into a defining moment of the modern American civil rights movement.
The Wright Brothers
Despite any formal training in physics or engineering, Wilbur and Orville Wright brought an utterly original and successful approach to the problem of human flight.
Charles and Ray Eames
Charles and Ray Eames took learning by doing — and collaboration — to new heights.
Luther Burbank
Luther Burbank introduced over 800 plant varieties, but his blight‑resistant potato remains his most enduring legacy.
George H. Corliss
In 1849, George H. Corliss’s new steam engine helped steam power surpass waterpower in American industry.
Buckminster Fuller
Though the Dymaxion House never succeeded commercially, it inspired generations of innovators.
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Visionaries
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln’s experiences on the Judicial Circuit helped him hone skills and establish relationships that prepared him to become President of the United States.
Dan Gurney
Blending racing talent with diplomacy, he united a British sports car builder and Ford Motor Company to transform the Indianapolis 500.
Steam Power
A triumph of human ingenuity, the Allegheny locomotive pushed the limits of what steam power could do just before the Age of Steam ended.
Steve Wozniak
Fueled with profound originality and resourcefulness, a twentysomething idealist changed the world with a machine built from the cheapest parts he could find.
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Henry Ford
Henry Ford
Lessons about the trials and triumphs of innovation from the days just before Ford finished building his Quadricycle.
Henry Ford and Anti-Semitism
Henry Ford’s unfortunate descent into anti-Semitism can be better understood by looking at several of his influences.
Soybean Car
Ford’s experiments with making plastic parts for automobiles out of soybeans in the early 1940s.
The Vagabonds
Summer camping trips with friends Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone, and John Burroughs.
Henry Ford Quotations
Henry Ford was remarkably quotable. Find quotes authenticated by our staff here.
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Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Co. Chronology, 1903-2003
A detailed chronology of Ford Motor Company’s first 100 years, from 1903 to 2003.
Ford Rubber Plantations in Brazil
Ford Motor Company’s efforts to secure a regular source of rubber resulted in the establishment of plantations in Brazil.
Vehicle Production Records
Information on the historic vehicle production records we hold from Ford, Lincoln, and Du Pont.
Ford Motor Company Parts Drawings (1903-57)
Learn more about parts drawings for Ford Motor Company, 1903–57, that are part of our collections.
Photographic and Film Department
A history and bibliography of the output of this department, and what our collections hold.
Sociological Department & English School
In the 1910s, Ford Motor Company established schools and codes of behavior to manage and assimilate its workers.
Lincoln Motor Company
Explore some of our most significant resources related to the history of Lincoln.
More to Explore
Search Our Digital Collections
Begin to explore our extensive archive of digitized artifacts.
View Articles
Explore stories from the collections of The Henry Ford.
Browse Curated Sets
Explore curated sets of artifacts from focus areas of our collections.