… to grandmother’s house we go.
Who knows if Henry and Clara Ford’s grandchildren sang this song while riding in a horse-drawn sleigh, enroute to visit Fair Lane, their famous grandparents’ home? Here is a 1935 photo that I’m permitted to share, (i.e. with no licensing issues), through the official Henry Ford Museum Archives, showing Henry Ford and those grandchildren, whose names I’m sure you’ll recognize: Henry II, William Clay, Josephine and Benson.
I ALSO crossed the Rouge River and went through the woods to visit Fair Lane Manor.
On Friday, May 12th I set out on a six-mile walk – it would be many hours before I returned to my car left at Ford Field Park. My original plan was a Springtime visit to the Ford Estate (a/k/a Fair Lane Manor), specifically to gawk at the gorgeous Persian Lilacs. However, soon my horizons expanded to include a trek to the University of Michigan’s Environmental Interpretive Center, a venue I never knew existed until a friend wrote about a Spring hike taken with his wife wherein he described the birds and wildflowers there.
I not only got a lot of mileage on my feet, but also gleaned four long posts from that May 12th trek. Since I’ve written about the Interpretive Center (click here if you missed it) and those Lilacs (last Monday), now it’s time to focus on the Ford Estate.
Though I’ve visited Fair Lane Manor multiple times, on May 12th day I discovered a whole new area wedged between the Interpretive Center and the Fords’ residence.
I have visited this 1,300-acre venue built from 1913-1915 in all seasons, except Winter and I am sure Fair Lane is even more tranquil when blanketed in snow. But Springtime was pretty special with its delicate flowers, birds twittering, alone in my thoughts ….
I began my journey as I walked through a quiet Dearborn neighborhood to enter the Rouge Gateway Trailhead.
I did indeed cross this bridge over the Rouge River.
As I meandered along, head swiveling all around and eyes peeled for wild turkeys grazing or deer romping across my path, it was a solo trek with no critters nor humans. But, I enjoyed that morning’s solitude as the sun filtered through the still-scantily clad trees. The woodsy trail is not particularly dense and in most places you can see the sky, especially on that day, with no canopy of trees yet since Spring had been coolish and leaves were still unfurling.
A few twists and turns later …
… I arrived at the Ford Estate. There were freshly planted pansies near the welcome sign and at the Powerhouse and garage.
While at the garage, I peeked inside at this vintage automobile. I had to twist my body around to get a picture without my own reflection in the glass, although I was not entirely successful with other images appearing there. The garage is closed to the public right now.
Behind the Powerhouse, the dam made the Rouge River churn noisily and you can see the river-edged rock that naturally conceals which energy was harnessed to power Henry Ford’s laboratory, garage and residence.
From my vantage point around the terrace, I could see the many Redbud trees which seem to cast a pinkish glow.
Look closely and you can sneak a peek at the former boathouse which appears between the Redbuds, to the left of the residence. Clara Ford had her own electric boat, the “Callie B” the nickname Henry called her.
Around the terrace, tulips lined up like colorful soldiers.
Amsonia Blue Star and White Bleeding Heart bloomed profusely.
The color pink ruled in the courtyard around the teahouse and pretty Pink Dogwood perked up the corner, peeking out behind the statue of Mr. and Mrs. Ford. The statue is gleaming in the sunlight. It is buffed and cleaned biannually.
First … Clara’s garden …
From history lessons, we know Henry Ford as an inventor: the first horseless carriage, (a/k/a the Quadricycle), perfecting the concept of the assembly line and harnessing the powers of the Rouge River to run his workshop. To combat those workaholic tendencies, Henry Ford had a soft side too. He was an environmentalist and an avid birder. Henry wanted to sit on a bench, with Clara at his side and enjoy the birds flitting about the 500 birdhouses built for him to set out every Spring to accompany the plants and nesting materials which would encourage birds to raise their young and stay awhile. In Winter, Henry provided birdfeeders and warm water to encourage his fine feathered friends to visit his personal bird sanctuary year around. Clara liked exotic birds so Peacocks roamed around the Estate back in the day.
Here is another photo from the Archives, from a recent post on the venue’s Facebook page … Henry and Clara doing a bit of birdwatching.
But for Clara, flowers were her “thing” although, rest assured, she was not on her hands and knees weeding out those 17 acres of gardens; that’s because there were 26 full-time gardeners tending to them. Clara was one lucky woman as Henry granted her every gardening whim, from that beautiful wrought-iron gate that graced the perennial gardens to the courtyard with its teahouse and fountain, the centerpiece of the courtyard with its abundance of rosebushes.
The photos I have seen around the Estate and at the online Archives often show Henry and Clara, sitting side by side on some of the many benches you still see on the property. Perhaps they were in awe of the fields of wildflowers that filled the meadows, or the lily pond, the hillside grotto or formal gardens that Henry had commissioned architect Jens Jergen to create.
Yes, they had it all at Fair Lane, didn’t they?
I have read and researched a lot about this venue and the Facebook page also features weekly glimpses of restoration work being performed and bios of the people responsible for same, as efforts continue on this project which began in 2014 to restore the 31,770-square-foot residence to its original grandeur. I look forward to touring the Fords’ home when restoration is completed – there is no timeline given yet.
Here are some volunteers who tend to the gardens. On this day, it was fairly easy as the roses were not in bloom yet, nor was the fountain turned on. I spoke with them in between snapping shots of the lovely Lilac bushes.
I left the Estate grounds to walk nearly one mile along Fair Lane Drive, on the fringe of the University of Michigan campus, to the Environmental Interpretive Center. After exploring those trails, taking photos of a pair of Wild Turkeys, a cute Chipmunk and a Dove, while wandering along Fair Lane Lake, I was already a little weary. I figured I’d head for the car, at least three miles away. It wasn’t a dense area, so I wasn’t lost in the woods like what happened a few years ago at Crosswinds Marsh. I could see Fair Lane Drive, the road that ran parallel to the campus.
But then I saw an open space and decided to explore some more. Oops! This post is so picture-laden, that I will continue it tomorrow. I don’t usually post two days in a row, so … stay tuned.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
It’s a wonderful estate and I’m glad it’s open to the public. Near me we have Longwood Gardens which is also wonderful but the house on the grounds is rustic. I always wished I had a crew to help me garden so I could spend my time designing and admiring but alas, I also have to weed!
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It is beautiful Kate and I’m glad I asked about peak week for the lilacs as it turned out to be peak week for all the beautiful trees too. Those redbuds are so stunning. I could get used to having a garden crew to help and I have small property. After the treecutters left and reconfigured a few things, I saw a lot of exposed weeds and a ton of pruning to be done. I am much more lax than I used to be as to weeds and garden imperfections.
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The gardening chores were one big reason why we moved. Too big to do and costly to get done.
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I have done a lot of peering at the yard and soul searching since last Thursday … I am not sure I want to commit to a large perennial/butterfly garden again … it monopolized my time for many years, plus with climate change, it will be exasperating (not to mention costly) to maintain it. We are having severe weather again this Thursday and tornadic activity is in the picture. I’m ready for Fall!
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Maybe something simple?
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Several years ago I went to a butterfly walk in a nearby city. The annual walk is organized by a woman who works with several animal shelters – the price of admission to the walk was bringing something on her “shelter wish list” – anyway, the woman has her entire back and side yards filled with perennials and mulched walkways (plus a pond with Koi fish). It was amazing. I keep thinking I would like to do that (without the pond) and wonder how difficult it would be. Once you plant them, perennials are not really that much of a bother. I waver back and forth on what to do and I worry about the impact of climate change and putting all the effort into a garden again. I lost most of my garden after the Polar Vortex of 2013-2014 so I’m leery. I had Coneflowers, Daisies and Black-eyed Susans that had been planted decades before – then just wiped out. But it looks really bare out back now – nothing like what it used to look like, especially where everything burned in that one corner of the yard.
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Those redbud trees are amazing. We have them around here, but not so colorful. The estate looks delightful, quite an unique place to wander about on.
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Those redbud trees are really beautiful Ally and they are all over the estate. I picked the largest ones to take photos of. It is so peaceful there. Tomorrow I will have a post on this new portion I discovered and still more trail gardens. Then I’m done for a while. Lots of history here and inside will be beautiful when they are done with the restoration. They are restoring if possible, or recreating every single item in the home to the letter. I never toured it before it closed down, but will do so when they open. I am sure cameras will not be permitted and they’ll likely have a videographer instead and post it on their site.
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Beautiful grounds! I love the redbuds and pink dogwoods. Looks like a peaceful place.
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Rebecca, I have decided that Clara Ford must have had a charmed life, sitting on these various benches, enjoying a different view from each. I was impressed by the redbuds which are all over, but I photographed the larger ones and that pink dogwood, so delicate. I am glad I asked what was peak week for the lilacs as it turned out to be peak week for everything!
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What a beautiful place and weather for a springtime walk. I did not know that Henty Ford was a birder!
Wow!!! 26 full-time gardeners. That’s how I would like to garden! 🙂
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Laurie, I am so glad I contacted the Ford Estate to find out peak week for the lilacs as it turned out to be peak week for Spring flowering trees – what a pretty and peaceful place. I always pictured Henry Ford as a successful businessman with his hands in many pies, but, like you, was amazed to learn he was an avid birder. It all stems from when he was very young and a tree was cut down on his family’s property. When the tree was down, his father showed Henry a bird’s nest and it had four eggs in it. The female bird was chirping anxiously so they moved the nest to another tree and all was well with the bird and nest after that. So that incident fostered his love for birds.
I could get into having a a contingent of full-time gardeners too … I just weeded and pruned around 4th of July holiday and the heat and rain made it look like a jungle in my backyard so out I went to restore order again!
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I am a little bit hesitant to prune and weed since I have been stung several times recently by hornets and wasps while doing yard work. I might just wait until fall after all the bees die!
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I’m sorry to hear that Laurie. Waiting til Fall might be a better option. I was walking home from the Park last year and there is a corner house with a lot of property and the man and woman each have a push mower to mow the property. I was walking by and all of a sudden he screamed, dropped to the floor and started rolling around. It had to be stinging insects as he rolled into a ball, then sprang up, when I assume they were gone. His wife rushed over – he seemed to be okay, but scary!
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It really is a wonder what some people do with it when they have gobs of money. Looks like a peaceful place.
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Yes, it is a peaceful place Eileen – that is true. All the wealth they had allowed them to spend lavishly on themselves and their hobbies. Hard to believe there were 26 full-time gardeners – what a luxury right there, not to mention the extravagance inside and outside of the Estate.
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Such a beautiful place. Thank you for sharing.
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Yes it is Lakshmi – I am happpy you enjoyed reading about it.
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Miss Linda………………………………thank you for all of your beautiful spring flower pictures……………………………………and the names of all the Ford families, (which I didn’t know)…………………………………very interesting……………..It makes me want to get up and go walking over there!!
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I am glad you enjoyed reading about the Ford family Ann Marie. I learned a lot when doing a little research for the first visit and I have been learning a little more each time I go there. Plus everywhere you look are informative signs that give insight on how the Ford family lived while at Fairlane. I am glad I inspired you to go visit this venue. If you go in Summer, be sure to see the rose garden in the courtyard – there are pink roses all around the courtyard and a fountain in the middle of everything.
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What a gorgeous setting! I love the redbud trees… I don’t think we have them here. I would love to have a fulltime gardening crew 🙂
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Those redbud trees are very beautiful Janis – too bad they only have their pink blooms for a couple of weeks. I could get into having a fulltime gardening crew as well. 🙂
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The more I learn about them, the more I’m enchanted by their love story. Beautiful place for nature and his sweet they enjoyed it together.
Once the renovations are done, the tour of the home will be amazing!
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I remember sending you the videos of the Estate after you were fascinated with it before Esther. It is a big place and I look forward to taking a tour of the home when the renovations are done – it’s been almost ten years since they began, though they did take a break early in the pandemic and suspended renovations.
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The renovations will be fabulous!! But when will they finish.
I have to review my emails for those videos. Sorry Linda that I didn’t see them right away when you sent it to me.
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They are not giving an estimated completion date yet Esther. I follow the Estate on Facebook so have gleaned a lot of historic tidbits from their weekly postings. The efforts to restore artifacts is painstaking and they have a team of people working on the restoration to ensure it is exactly how it was in Henry and Clara Ford’s day. It was actually a while ago I sent the videos Esther – probably when I went in 2022 or earlier than that. You were going to use them as a history lesson for the kids. There were one or two videos done by with a drone flyover.
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It’s going to be fabulous when they’re done!
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You are right about that Esther. I am hoping it is available to tour, like they did many years ago (though I’ve not been inside). I’m guessing no picture-taking will be allowed. They have signs outside about no photo shoots but they are okay if you go there yourself and just taking photos. The Heritage Park Botanical Gardens has a similar policy, so I take the cards I had printed with my blog address on them. They say pics with phone are okay – I don’t have a smartphone to take pics with.
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I’m so glad you have the cards!! I’d love to see your card…if you don’t mind sharing.
I’ve notived that a lot of historic places don’t allow photoshoots; you may need a permit for them.
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Yes, it was a good idea to get them. I did a post once and included a copy of the card. I will send it as a separate comment in case it goes to your SPAM folder.
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I didn’t get it. Did you send it to my personal email instead of the blog one?
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Esther – I liked the cards but the font is way too small. I ordered them from Vistaprint and the template did not appear that tiny. The long quote at the top is: “In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous” by Aristotle. The small sentence on the left says “Strolling around SE Michigan” and the small sentence on the right says “Send joy in the journey.”
Here is the post I used the finished card in: https://lindaschaubblog.net/2022/02/11/it-was-the-heart-of-winter/
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Linda, that’s a great card! You’re right that it’s hard to spell out the blog title name and writing it down, and once it’s done, the interest has subsided. A card is a much better alternative and looks professional.
Maybe I should too!!
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I’m glad you like it Esther. You will recognize the UK Robin, not an American Robin. Their Robins are cuter as you see from Andy Finnegan’s photos. Vistaprint has templates, fonts and pictures to use – I don’t recall if I could use my own picture or not. I know that Walgreen’s does business cards too as I was going to order from them initially. Even if I meet someone and mention the blog, giving them the URL link (lindaschaubblog.net) instead of the whole name, I still have to spell it out. This works better.
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Nice design! Maybe I’ll check into getting one too; that’ll be fun to do.
If I do, I’ll let you know. 🙂
We’re having a blazing Saturday with high temps. Yikes! Hope you are doing well and enjoying your Saturday. .
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I hope you do Esther – it will be fun. We are having a storm at 9:00 p.m. and another one tomorrow afternoon. So will try to finish up here if I can before it hits. We are getting up the 90s again this coming week, which will probably cause storms again.
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It seems that their two passions, flowers and birds, complimented each other as I am sure that the beautiful gardens of the estate attracted many types of birds. It’s such a lovely place. Thank you for sharing so much information and the beautiful pictures.
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Thank you Ruth – I am glad you enjoyed reading about them. I have learned a lot about the couple from my visits to the Estate and the information signs and info online as well. I agree with you – their passions did compliment each other and it seems they were a match made in Heaven. I wish they still had the birdhouses and bird sanctuary – it would be wonderful if they would bring them back.
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Such a fun love story – sprinkled with such beautiful colors and tales of a softer and more romantic side to their lives. 🥰
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Yes it was Shelley – I always think of him as a businessman and inventor, not as someone whom would take the time, nor have the inclination, to spend time out in nature.
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I guess somebody had to work to pay for those luxuries 😉🤔
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I wonder how much cars were going for back in the day?
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Yeah, that would be interesting to know! Another blog post option…🤔
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I know they only came in black and it was Henry Ford who invented the concept of mass production of the automobile. Yes it would be … I wish I could have seen inside that garage.
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History is so fun. Do they give tours of the garage for a fee?
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I enjoyed compiling these posts and doing the research for what I hadn’t learned from the signs scattered around the Estate, yet I am not a big history buff. But this was something I could sink my teeth in and learn as I went along. I would have asked if I could go in if I saw someone and hung out taking pics there (several as I kept getting myself in the reflection) but I didn’t see anyone. I did ask if I could peek in the potting shed as the door was open, but there was nothing to take pics of, just a notebook and a slicker on a hall tree which was probably vintage … I don’t know if they use it now. They have a whole greenhouse area and lots of pots of plants to be planted in the perennial gardens, but they also have plant sales there (kind of surprised me about that to be honest). I didn’t go to the sale but I saw it on the Facebook site I follow where they mostly give historical tidbits of items they are restoring inside the mansion, or show rooms as they finish each room (there are 56 rooms) plus info about outside as well.
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WOW – so many options! 🥰🤩😉
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Henry Ford was a fascinating fellow. He had little education or training, but had an amazing instinct for machines. He built an empire, and at a point in the early 20s, 50% of cars on the road were Fords. On the negative side, he was a notable anti-semite. Like most of us, he was a complex person.
I know very little about Clara, so thanks for this. I have been to Fair Lane a couple of times, but never when it was open.
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Yes, he was a fascinating fellow JP. In all of the info I have read (brochures/information signs around the Estate), I only learned a few days ago that he was a notable anti-semite. A fellow blogger was interested in the stonework (in the next post you’ve not read yet) and asked if it was a grotto. I went to get her a photo of the grotto and statue of naturalist John Burroughs that is dedicated to Burroughs on the Estate property and in Googling I found an article about “facts you likely don’t know about Henry Ford” and that was one of the facts. Also it was well known he had a 30-year affair and fathered a child. First time I heard that mentioned. Well … after I praised him up and down for his gentle ways, devotion to Clara and for being a nature lover. Guess I won’t go on about ol’ Henry’s attributes next time. Clara’s parents owned a farm and her father was a political figure at one time.
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Happy wife, happy life — he was a smart man indeed!
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Yes Jeanine – it sounds like he indulged her every whim? The kind of guy a single woman would joke and say to Clara “so does your Henry have any single brothers?” 🙂
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It is so nice to know that there are volunteers to help keep up this large beautiful place. I love the statue, so elegant! But not thrilled about the poison ivy climbing up the tree. So many wonderful facts Linda, thank you!
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I never knew they had volunteers there until I went for the lilacs and it is groups … not surprisingly, one of the groups that volunteers, according to some signage, were from Ford Motor Company. I wonder if it might be mandatory. I did not know that was poison ivy Diane! I have never seen it before. I just went back and looked at the post … I would not have known, so good thing I didn’t touch it! Thanks for pointing it out.
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I wonder if reflections of native Redbuds are what gives the river its name? The water would blur and swirl the image so “rouge” seems entirely appropriate!
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(I’m sorry I missed this comment Dave – we had another storm and I left last night, then returned later.) That’s an interesting theory – when I Googled it did not mention they saw red, but named it “red river” so “rouge” for red. The River is not red and is pretty clear as it moves fast in some places, like the dam (the original dam Henry Ford used to harness energy for his power plant and workshop). There’s a covered bridge at Ford Field Park in Dearborn, about a mile from the Estate and the current is so fast it splashes up onto the covered bridge.
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