Helen Pattskyn, author of Ghosthunting Michigan, tells us about the supposedly paranormal activity happening at Greenfield Village and the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.
If people like Lynn from Main Street Antiques and Pat from the Battle Alley Arcade are right, then the more pieces of old furniture or old building materials you have around, the greater your chances are of having ghosts—assuming you believe in ghosts. Many of the other people I’ve spoken to in the course of writing this book have also said they have noticed how paranormal activity seemed to increase when they brought antiques into their businesses. So it stands to reason that a place like Dearborn’s Greenfield Village and Henry Ford Museum, which is nothing but antiques and old homes, would be teeming with paranormal activity. And according to a lot of people, it is.
Greenfield Village and the Henry Ford Museum is a legacy left to us by the museum’s namesake, automotive giant Henry Ford. Ford’s passion for preserving American history and culture led him to amass, preserve, and exhibit more than 90 acres’ worth of historically significant Americana, including large exhibits like Thomas Edison’s laboratory and the Wright Brothers’ bicycle shop, in addition to several historic homes, including the Firestone Farm, which was originally constructed in 1828 in Columbiana, Ohio. Other permanent exhibits include John F. Kennedy’s presidential limousine, the chair Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in, and the bus made famous by Rosa Parks. The folks who run Greenfield Village are more interested in traditional history than in paranormal activity, but several places around the village are reputed to be haunted, including the Firestone Farm, the Dagget Farm, William Ford Barn, and the Wright Brothers’ home—at least according to former employees of the Village.
On the Firestone Farm, it is said that one can hear Sally Firestone walking around upstairs. Her bedroom is said to be particularly active; sometimes she can even be seen peering out the window.
Former employees have reported they would find the drapes pulled back and furniture out of place in the room. Equine specters are said to stamp their hooves in the William Ford Barn; in the Wright Brothers’ family home, people claim to have seen Katherine Wright, the famous pair’s younger sister. At the Dagget Farm, some people have claimed to catch a whiff of pipe smoke, particularly in the autumn months. Most of the Village’s supposedly paranormal activity happens at night, and management tends to be closed-mouthed about it. But if you ask around discreetly, you might be able to get some of the employees to tell you a ghost story or two.
More information on Greenfield Village and the Henry Ford Museum is available here.
Photo Credits
The Wright House: By Andrew Balet [CC BY-SA 3.0], from Wikimedia Commons
The Thomas Edison Laboratoy: By Swampyank [GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0], from Wikimedia Commons