Gunsolly Carding Mill and Thomas Edison Statue before Relocation during the Greenfield Village Restoration Project, September 2002
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Artifact Overview
By 2000, Greenfield Village began showing its age. Buildings and crumbling infrastructure desperately needed repair. Museum planners envisioned a revitalized village. They created themed "Historic Districts" by relocating and refurbishing the historic structures. Workers repaved streets and upgraded water, sewer, electric, and gas lines. In June 2003, nine months after restoration began, visitors passed through a new entrance into a reborn Greenfield Village.
Artifact Details
Artifact
Digital photograph
Date Made
09 September 2002-11 September 2002
Subject Date
09 September 2002-11 September 2002
Collection Title
Location
By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center
Object ID
EI.1929.4268
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford.
Color
Multicolored
Dimensions
Height: undefined in
Width: undefined in
Keywords |
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Related Artifacts
ArtifactGunsolly Carding Mill
John Gunsolly operated this water-powered carding mill as well as a saw and cider mill on the Middle Rouge River near Plymouth, Michigan, beginning in the 1850s. Area farmers brought their wool to this mill to have it carded (combed) so it could be spun into thread.
ArtifactThomas Alva Edison Statue, 1949
In 1930 Henry Ford commissioned this larger-than-life statue of his friend and hero, Thomas Edison. Sculptor James Earle Fraser (1876-1953), renowned for his public statues of prominent individuals, made preparatory sketches from sittings given by Edison just before his death in 1931. Fraser did not complete the statue until 1949 - it has since had several homes at The Henry Ford, and is now prominently located in the heart of the Village.
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Related Content
SetRestoring Greenfield Village 2003
- 13 Artifacts
Much of Greenfield Village looked quite different in 2002 from what you see today. The village was showing its age -- its crumbling infrastructure desperately needed repair. Yet replacing the underground systems also provided an opportunity to refresh and revise Greenfield Village itself. In September 2002, Greenfield Village closed to the public and restoration began. The transformed village reopened just nine months later.