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Popular Research Topics

The Vagabonds

Between 1915 and 1924, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone, and John Burroughs, calling themselves the Four Vagabonds, embarked on a series of summer camping trips. The idea was initiated in 1914 when Ford and Burroughs visited Edison in Florida and toured the Everglades. The notion blossomed the next year when Ford, Edison and Firestone were in California for the Panama-Pacific Exposition. They visited Luther Burbank and then drove from Riverside to San Diego.

Vagabonds

In 1916, Edison invited Ford, Burroughs and Harvey Firestone to journey through the New England Adirondacks and Green Mountains; Ford, however, was unable to join the group. In 1918, Ford, Edison, Firestone, his son Harvey, Burroughs, and Robert DeLoach of the Armour Company, caravanned through the mountains of West Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia. Subsequent trips were made in 1919 to the Adirondacks and New England; in 1920 to John Burroughs' home and cabin retreat into the Catskill Mountains; in 1921 to West Virginia and northern Michigan; and in 1923 to northern Michigan. In 1924, the group journeyed to northern Michigan by train, gathered again at Henry and Clara Ford's Wayside Inn in Massachusetts, and visited President Coolidge at his home in Vermont.

The trips were well organized and equipped. There were several heavy passenger cars and vans to carry the travelers, household staff, and equipment; Ford Motor Company photographers also accompanied the group.

Vagabonds
Vagabonds

The 1919 trip involved fifty vehicles, including two designed by Ford: a kitchen camping car with a gasoline stove and built-in icebox presided over by a cook and a heavy touring car mounted on a truck chassis with compartments for tents, cots, chairs, electric lights, etc. On later trips, there was a huge, folding round table equipped with a lazy susan that seated twenty. After 1924, the growing fame of the campers brought too much public attention and the trips were discontinued.

For more see:

  • Vagabonds. Henry Ford and friends camping. Dearborn, Mich. : The Henry Ford, 2009. 
  • Vagabonds. Henry Ford and friends camping, part 2. Dearborn, Mich. : The Henry Ford, 2009.
  • There to breathe the beauty / by Brauer, Norm. Dalton, Pa. : Norman Brauer Publications, 1995.
  • For more photos, visit our Flickr

For more information about this topic or the collections of The Henry Ford, contact research.center@thehenryford.org

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Artifacts Related to The Vagabonds

Horseback Riding during a "Vagabonds" Camping Trip, 1921
Horseback Riding during a "Vagabonds" Camping Trip, 1921 (back)

Horseback Riding during a "Vagabonds" Camping Trip, 1921

The Henry Ford   Details

Horseback Riding during a "Vagabonds" Camping Trip, 1921

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

Artifact

Photographic print

Summary

President Harding, on the left, joined Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone on one of their yearly camping trips. This photograph shows the men horseback riding in Maryland during their trip in 1921.

Creators

Ford Motor Company. Engineering Photographic Department 

Place of Creation

United States, Michigan, Dearborn 

Keywords

Photographic prints 

Photographs 

Horseback riding 

Recreation 

United States presidents 

Vacations 

Ford, Henry, 1863-1947 

Firestone, Harvey Samuel, 1868-1938 

Harding, Warren G. (Warren Gamaliel), 1865-1923 

Vagabonds 

Object ID

84.1.1660.P.34.1921.98

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Get more details in Digital Collections at:

thehenryford.org

Horseback Riding during a "Vagabonds" Camping Trip, 1921

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

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Henry Ford During a "Vagabonds" Camping Trip, 1919
Henry Ford During a "Vagabonds" Camping Trip, 1919 (back)

Henry Ford during a "Vagabonds" Camping Trip, 1919

The Henry Ford   Details

Henry Ford during a "Vagabonds" Camping Trip, 1919

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

Artifact

Photographic print

Summary

Calling themselves the Vagabonds, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone, and John Burroughs made yearly camping trips between 1916 and 1924. This photograph of Henry Ford is from their 1919 excursion, when the friends visited New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. The next year, their wives would join, rendering the trips decidedly more formal and less adventurous.

Creators

Ford Motor Company. Engineering Photographic Department 

Place of Creation

United States, Michigan, Dearborn 

Keywords

Photographs 

Photographic prints 

Camping 

Vacations 

Ford, Henry, 1863-1947 

Vagabonds 

Object ID

84.1.1660.P.34.1919.26

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Get more details in Digital Collections at:

thehenryford.org

Henry Ford during a "Vagabonds" Camping Trip, 1919

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

What is The Henry Ford?

The national attraction for discovering your ingenuity while exploring America’s spirit of innovation. There is always much to see and do at The Henry Ford.

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Details
Henry Ford on a "Vagabonds" Camping Trip, 1919
Henry Ford on a "Vagabonds" Camping Trip, 1919 (back)

Henry Ford on a "Vagabonds" Camping Trip, 1919

The Henry Ford   Details

Henry Ford on a "Vagabonds" Camping Trip, 1919

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

Artifact

Photographic print

Summary

Calling themselves the Vagabonds, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone, and John Burroughs made yearly camping trips between 1916 and 1924. This photograph of Henry Ford is from their 1919 excursion, when the friends visited New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. The next year, their wives would join, rendering the trips decidedly more formal and less adventurous.

Creators

Ford Motor Company. Engineering Photographic Department 

Place of Creation

United States, Michigan, Dearborn 

Keywords

Photographic prints 

Photographs 

Rivers 

Vacations 

Ford, Henry, 1863-1947 

Vagabonds 

Object ID

84.1.1660.P.34.1919.23

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Get more details in Digital Collections at:

thehenryford.org

Henry Ford on a "Vagabonds" Camping Trip, 1919

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

What is The Henry Ford?

The national attraction for discovering your ingenuity while exploring America’s spirit of innovation. There is always much to see and do at The Henry Ford.

VIEW CALENDAR

 
  • Tweet
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Details
Henry Ford, Warren Harding and Others Dining on a "Vagabonds" Camping Trip, Hagerstown, Maryland, 1921
Henry Ford, Warren Harding and Others Dining on a "Vagabonds" Camping Trip, Hagerstown, Maryland, 1921 (back)

Henry Ford, Warren Harding and Others Dining on a "Vagabonds" Camping Trip, 1921

The Henry Ford   Details

Henry Ford, Warren Harding and Others Dining on a "Vagabonds" Camping Trip, 1921

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

Artifact

Photographic print

Summary

Between 1916 and 1924, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone, and John Burroughs, calling themselves the Vagabonds, embarked on a series of camping trips. This image, from 1921, shows the Vagabonds (minus Burroughs, who had died earlier in the year) dining with family and friends near Hagerstown, Maryland. One of their friends at the table is President Warren G. Harding.

Creators

Ford Motor Company. Engineering Photographic Department 

Place of Creation

United States, Michigan, Dearborn 

Keywords

United States, Maryland, Hagerstown 

Photographic prints 

Photographs 

Camping 

Dining tables 

Eating & drinking 

United States presidents 

Tents (Portable buildings) 

Vacations 

Anderson, Lulah 

Anderson, William F. (William Franklin), 1860-1944 

Christian, George B. (George Busby), 1873-1951 

Edison, Mina Miller, 1865-1947 

Edison, Thomas A. (Thomas Alva), 1847-1931 

Firestone, Elizabeth Parke, 1897-1990 

Firestone family 

Firestone, Harvey Samuel, 1868-1938 

Firestone, Harvey S., 1898-1973 

Ford, Clara Bryant, 1866-1950 

Ford, Edsel, 1893-1943 

Ford, Eleanor Clay, 1896-1976 

Ford family 

Ford, Henry, 1863-1947 

Harding, Warren G. (Warren Gamaliel), 1865-1923 

Vagabonds 

Object ID

84.1.1660.P.34.1921.11

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Get more details in Digital Collections at:

thehenryford.org

Henry Ford, Warren Harding and Others Dining on a "Vagabonds" Camping Trip, 1921

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

What is The Henry Ford?

The national attraction for discovering your ingenuity while exploring America’s spirit of innovation. There is always much to see and do at The Henry Ford.

VIEW CALENDAR

 
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Details
The "Vagabonds" during Morning Ablutions on a Camping Trip, 1921
The "Vagabonds" during Morning Ablutions on a Camping Trip, 1921 (back)

The "Vagabonds" during a Camping Trip, 1921

The Henry Ford   Details

The "Vagabonds" during a Camping Trip, 1921

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

Artifact

Photographic print

Summary

Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Harvey Firestone, part of the self-proclaimed Vagabonds, are shown shaving and washing up during their 1921 camping trip. They are joined by Bishop William Anderson and President Harding. Newsmen and photographers documented and reported the Vagabonds' every move. It's hard to tell how many "informal" activities were staged for reporters.

Creators

Ford Motor Company. Engineering Photographic Department 

Place of Creation

United States, Michigan, Dearborn 

Keywords

Photographic prints 

Photographs 

Camp sites (Recreation spaces) 

Camping 

Shaving 

United States presidents 

Vacations 

Anderson, William F. (William Franklin), 1860-1944 

Edison, Thomas A. (Thomas Alva), 1847-1931 

Firestone, Harvey Samuel, 1868-1938 

Ford, Henry, 1863-1947 

Vagabonds 

Object ID

84.1.1660.P.34.1921.61

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Get more details in Digital Collections at:

thehenryford.org

The "Vagabonds" during a Camping Trip, 1921

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

What is The Henry Ford?

The national attraction for discovering your ingenuity while exploring America’s spirit of innovation. There is always much to see and do at The Henry Ford.

VIEW CALENDAR

 
  • Tweet
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  • Embed

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Details
"Vagabonds"' Camping Caravan of Trucks and Automobiles, 1921
"Vagabonds"' Camping Caravan of Trucks and Automobiles, 1921 (back)
"Vagabonds"' Camping Caravan of Trucks and Automobiles, 1921

The "Vagabonds" Camping Trip Caravan of Trucks and Automobiles, 1921

The Henry Ford   Details

The "Vagabonds" Camping Trip Caravan of Trucks and Automobiles, 1921

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

Artifact

Photographic print

Summary

Between 1916 and 1924, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone and John Burroughs embarked on a series of camping trips. They called themselves the Vagabonds, but they camped in style. Numerous support staff set up and took down camp, cooked, took photographs, and maintained the cars and equipment trucks. This photograph shows the Vagabonds' automotive camping caravan in 1921.

Creators

Ford Motor Company. Engineering Photographic Department 

Place of Creation

United States, Michigan, Dearborn 

Keywords

Photographic prints 

Photographs 

Ford automobile 

Ford trucks 

Camping 

Vacations 

Vagabonds 

Object ID

84.1.1660.P.34.1921.186

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Get more details in Digital Collections at:

thehenryford.org

The "Vagabonds" Camping Trip Caravan of Trucks and Automobiles, 1921

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

What is The Henry Ford?

The national attraction for discovering your ingenuity while exploring America’s spirit of innovation. There is always much to see and do at The Henry Ford.

VIEW CALENDAR

 
  • Tweet
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  • Embed

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Details
President Harding Dining with the "Vagabonds" during a Camping Trip, 1921
President Harding Dining with the "Vagabonds" during a Camping Trip, 1921 (back)
President Harding Dining with the "Vagabonds" during a Camping Trip, 1921

President Harding Dining with the "Vagabonds" during a Camping Trip, 1921

The Henry Ford   Details

President Harding Dining with the "Vagabonds" during a Camping Trip, 1921

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

Artifact

Photographic print

Summary

Between 1916 and 1924, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone, and John Burroughs, calling themselves the Vagabonds, embarked on a series of camping trips. This image, from 1921, shows the Vagabonds (minus Burroughs, who had died earlier in the year) dining with family and friends near Hagerstown, Maryland. One of their friends at the table is President Warren G. Harding.

Creators

Ford Motor Company. Engineering Photographic Department 

Place of Creation

United States, Michigan, Dearborn 

Keywords

United States, Maryland, Hagerstown 

Photographic prints 

Photographs 

Camping 

Meals (Eating, event) 

Families 

Friendship 

United States presidents 

Vacations 

Anderson, Lulah 

Anderson, William F. (William Franklin), 1860-1944 

Edison family 

Edison, Mina Miller, 1865-1947 

Edison, Thomas A. (Thomas Alva), 1847-1931 

Firestone family 

Firestone, Elizabeth Parke, 1897-1990 

Firestone, Harvey S., 1898-1973 

Firestone, Harvey Samuel, 1868-1938 

Firestone, Idabelle, 1874-1954 

Firestone, Russell Allen, 1901-1951 

Ford family 

Ford, Henry, 1863-1947 

Harding, Warren G. (Warren Gamaliel), 1865-1923 

Vagabonds 

Object ID

84.1.1660.P.189.1522

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Get more details in Digital Collections at:

thehenryford.org

President Harding Dining with the "Vagabonds" during a Camping Trip, 1921

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

What is The Henry Ford?

The national attraction for discovering your ingenuity while exploring America’s spirit of innovation. There is always much to see and do at The Henry Ford.

VIEW CALENDAR

 
  • Tweet
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Details
Henry Ford and the "Vagabonds" Visiting President Coolidge's Farm, Plymouth, Vermont, 1924

Henry Ford and the "Vagabonds" Visiting President Coolidge's Farm, 1924

The Henry Ford   Details

Henry Ford and the "Vagabonds" Visiting President Coolidge's Farm, 1924

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

Artifact

Photographic print

Date Made

1924

Summary

President Calvin Coolidge, second from left, hosted the Vagabonds at his boyhood home in Vermont in 1924. The Vagabonds -- Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and Harvey Firestone -- took yearly camping trips from 1916 to 1924. President Coolidge is seen in this photograph presenting Ford with a sap bucket.

Creators

Underwood & Underwood 

Place of Creation

United States, New York, New York 

Keywords

United States, Vermont, Plymouth 

Photographic prints 

Photographs 

United States presidents 

Vacations 

Ford, Henry, 1863-1947 

Edison, Thomas A. (Thomas Alva), 1847-1931 

Coolidge, Calvin, 1872-1933 

Firestone, Harvey Samuel, 1868-1938 

Coolidge, Grace Goodhue, 1879-1957 

Vagabonds 

Object ID

00.1334.120

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Get more details in Digital Collections at:

thehenryford.org

Henry Ford and the "Vagabonds" Visiting President Coolidge's Farm, 1924

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

What is The Henry Ford?

The national attraction for discovering your ingenuity while exploring America’s spirit of innovation. There is always much to see and do at The Henry Ford.

VIEW CALENDAR

 
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Email

  • Embed

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Details
The "Vagabonds" with Family and Friends during a Camping Trip, 1920
The "Vagabonds" with Family and Friends during a Camping Trip, 1920 (back)

The "Vagabonds" with Family and Friends during a Camping Trip, 1920

The Henry Ford   Details

The "Vagabonds" with Family and Friends during a Camping Trip, 1920

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

Artifact

Photographic print

Summary

Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone, and John Burroughs made yearly camping trips between 1916 and 1924. They called themselves the Vagabonds. In 1920 they traveled to New York's Catskill Mountains. This was the first outing to include wives. The trips became decidedly more formal and less adventurous when wives came along. And Edison himself confessed that the fun was gone.

Creators

Ford Motor Company. Engineering Photographic Department 

Place of Creation

United States, Michigan, Dearborn 

Keywords

Photographic prints 

Photographs 

Group portraits 

Camping 

Vacations 

Ford, Henry, 1863-1947 

Edison, Thomas A. (Thomas Alva), 1847-1931 

Firestone, Harvey Samuel, 1868-1938 

Burroughs, John, 1837-1921 

Ford, Clara Bryant, 1866-1950 

Edison, Mina Miller, 1865-1947 

Firestone, Idabelle, 1874-1954 

Barrus, Clara, 1864-1931 

Vagabonds 

Object ID

84.1.1660.P.34.1920.19

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Get more details in Digital Collections at:

thehenryford.org

The "Vagabonds" with Family and Friends during a Camping Trip, 1920

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

What is The Henry Ford?

The national attraction for discovering your ingenuity while exploring America’s spirit of innovation. There is always much to see and do at The Henry Ford.

VIEW CALENDAR

 
  • Tweet
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Details
Thomas Edison during a "Vagabonds" Camping Trip, 1923
Thomas Edison during a "Vagabonds" Camping Trip, 1923 (back)

Thomas Edison during a "Vagabonds" Camping Trip, 1923

The Henry Ford   Details

Thomas Edison during a "Vagabonds" Camping Trip, 1923

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

Artifact

Photographic print

Summary

Between 1916 and 1924, industrialists Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Harvey Firestone, and naturalist John Burroughs, took several camping trips together. This group, which called itself the Vagabonds, was informally led by Edison, who selected routes and served as navigator. This photograph shows him relaxing during a 1923 trip.

Creators

Ford Motor Company. Engineering Photographic Department 

Keywords

Photographic prints 

Photographs 

Camping 

Vacations 

Edison, Thomas A. (Thomas Alva), 1847-1931 

Vagabonds 

Object ID

84.1.1660.P.34.1923.80

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Get more details in Digital Collections at:

thehenryford.org

Thomas Edison during a "Vagabonds" Camping Trip, 1923

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The "Vagabonds" on a Camping Trip, Lead Mine, West Virginia, 1918
The "Vagabonds" on a Camping Trip, Lead Mine, West Virginia, 1918 (back)

The "Vagabonds" on a Camping Trip, Lead Mine, West Virginia, 1918

The Henry Ford   Details

The "Vagabonds" on a Camping Trip, Lead Mine, West Virginia, 1918

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

Artifact

Photographic print

Summary

Thomas Edison, John Burroughs, Henry Ford, and Harvey Firestone pose on a waterwheel at old Evans Mill near Lead Mine, West Virginia. The photograph was taken in August 1918. The group called themselves Vagabonds and made a series of trips between 1916 and 1924. On these trips they communed with nature, explored their personal interests and acted like boys again.

Creators

Ford Motor Company. Engineering Photographic Department 

Place of Creation

United States, Michigan, Dearborn 

Keywords

United States, West Virginia, Lead Mine 

Photographic prints 

Photographs 

Water-wheels 

Vacations 

Ford, Henry, 1863-1947 

Edison, Thomas A. (Thomas Alva), 1847-1931 

Firestone, Harvey Samuel, 1868-1938 

Burroughs, John, 1837-1921 

Vagabonds 

Object ID

84.1.1660.P.34.1918.140.2

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Get more details in Digital Collections at:

thehenryford.org

The "Vagabonds" on a Camping Trip, Lead Mine, West Virginia, 1918

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

What is The Henry Ford?

The national attraction for discovering your ingenuity while exploring America’s spirit of innovation. There is always much to see and do at The Henry Ford.

VIEW CALENDAR

 
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Email

  • Embed

  • Copy Short URL

Details
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Contact Center: 313-982-6001
Contact Center Hours: Monday – Friday 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Saturday 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Sunday 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
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