2010 was my first year dressing in period clothing to visit Greenfield Village during Thanksgiving Weekend. And now it has been an annual event ever since, which means this year of 2024 was my 15th time (14th year) doing this on this particular holiday weekend (for I do dress period throughout the open season there). For Thanksgiving Weekend 2024 I went twice - once on Black Friday itself (in modern clothing), and then again on Sunday - their final day for daytime opening...and it was this last day I wore my 18th century clothing.
I hope you enjoy this portfolio of fun and history:
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| As I stepped out of the door to my waiting van, snow was falling, lightly at first, then as I drove through downtown Detroit toward Dearborn, traffic slowed from 55 mph to around 30 due to the slick roads. Pumpkins on my porch received a dusting... |
We are at the beginning of America's 250th birthday celebration. It actually began in 2020 with the 250th commemoration of the Boston Massacre. 2023 saw the 250th reenactment of the Boston Tea Party. Next year - 2025 - will be the 250th anniversary of the Revolutionary War's actual beginnings: Lexington & Concord, along with the famous midnight ride of Paul Revere.
One of the things I've read from a few folks who live in Europe was how we in the States have pride, American pride, and enjoy our many various traditions, of which we have plenty. It's also been noted how much of our past we actually know and embrace; one particular Scottish gentleman commented on how little of the Scottish history is known by born and bred Scots in comparison to what we Americans know about our history. We live our history in so many various ways and quote lines or passages from famous Americans of long ago. We also have our past on our money, continuously tout our Constitution (written in 1787) , visit and support our many museums - Colonial Williamsburg, Greenfield Village, Old Salem, Conner Prairie, Old Sturbridge Village, Plimouth Plantation, Crossroads Village, and thousands of smaller more localized museums (Waterloo Farm Museum, for example), and countless others. We also venture out to cider mills every fall and celebrate the season more traditionally than even participants may realize, we celebrate Hallowe'en infinitely more that any other country, seize the 4th of July and our declaration for independence (from way back in 1776), remember our soldiers who have given their last full measure of devotion on Memorial Day, enjoy old-time car cruises and festivals, head to the small historic towns with 18th and/or 19th century buildings to walk around and shop in the quaint stores, visit hundreds of reenactments of various battles in nearly every state in the union, and watch history-oriented TV shows, plays, and movies, keeping them at the top of the ratings and listings, and praise & quote our Founders ("early to bed, early to rise," "four score and seven years ago," "When in the course of human events," etc).
Plus, we give thanks to God (or to whoever, for we do have freedom of religion here) every 4th Thursday in November...honoring and remembering those early Americans who celebrated their first harvest in the New World back in 1621, along with the Natives that helped them.
So, is it any wonder that I should also celebrate in a historical manner such as visiting Greenfield Village, where 400 years of history awaits?
My first stop is always the 1750s Daggett House, but for this post I'd like to begin by showing you another stop inside the Village first...my visit back to an 1885 Thanksgiving in the farm house known as Firestone Farm with the historic presenters there. Greenfield Village goes through great detail in ensuring their prized possession - Firestone Farm - gets it historically accurate, so I spent the better part of my day watching as the Firestone presenters prepared their Thanksgiving feast. I did my best to stay out of their way, but I did inform them that I wanted to document this activity, which I did. In fact, I took 86 pictures - - no worries---I cut them down a little for this post (lol):
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| There it is in the distance...Firestone Farm. The light snowfall had blanketed the ground. |
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| One of the two roads that lead to the farm - I chose the road less traveled to get there. The house, barn, outbuildings, and the farm fields sit on about seven or eight acres of land inside Greenfield Village. |
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| Inside the house Larissa puts the turkey into the coal-burning stove. Note the peas on the table... |
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| Larissa truly knows her way around a wood burning stove, a coal burning stove (as seen here), and a hearth. Her historic cooking talent is without compare. |
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| Nicole made mashed potatoes. |
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| John made coffee. |
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| Nick made the sitting room fire warmer. |
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| Kiera made fried potatoes. |
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| John carved the turkey. |
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| Sitting down for an 1885 Thanksgiving dinner. |
Firestone Farm does have a formal dining room, but it is filled with historic artifacts, many of which actually belonged to the Firestone family of the 19th century, and that's why they, understandably, do not use the room.
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| The formal dining room, filled with Firestone artifacts. And there's Diane as well. |
Some of the history this room holds is the table, chairs, dishes & silverware, and the corner cupboard.
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| And while they were enjoying a hot meal in the warmth of the house, the snow was whipping around outdoors. |
I was hoping to give a description of a late 19th century Thanksgiving celebration from the Laura Ingalls Wilder book, Farmer Boy, but, sadly, there was no chapter on this subject included in the book - I could have sworn there was...but I was mistaken. In fact, I had learned that there was supposed to be a Thanksgiving chapter, but Wilder herself removed it to appease the publisher. However, here is a portion of an article on that very subject written by Nancy Tystad Koupal for the South Dakota Historical Society Press: "(Thanksgiving) is too close to Christmas, and if the Thanksgiving meal is given too much attention, the celebratory dinner the family shares at Yuletide becomes redundant.
The problem of the proximity of Thanksgiving and Christmas feasts was particularly evident in early drafts of Farmer Boy, where the traditional Thanksgiving dinner was just one sumptuous meal too many. The entire chapter was removed prior to publication, but it contained a loving portrayal of the feast that most Americans associate with the holiday. The day opened with Almanzo and his family traveling to Uncle Wesley’s house. As the extended family sat at the table, Uncle Wesley “thanked God for all the year’s blessings” until “it was time to feast in thankfulness for the Lord’s bounty.” Wilder described the carving of the turkey and serving of the meal: “Its sides were crackling golden and crisp, and the juicy white meat of the breast fell away in slices. . . . The drumsticks were plump and tender. The dressing smelled of onion and sage, and brown, rich gravy mixed with fluffy mashed potatoes.” Succotash and squash, corn relish, beet and cucumber pickles, roasted ham, and sweet apple preserve followed. Almanzo polished off the meal with three kinds of pie but failed to finish his slice of fruit cake. Afterward, he sat in the parlor and “felt that he would never be hungry again” as he listened “while the grown-ups visited with each other, until it was time to go home.” "
I've often told people to read Farmer Boy, for, in my opinion, it truly brings mid-19th century farm life to life like nothing else I've read. And it's this book that comes to my mind every time I visit Firestone Farm. I even look for the stain on the wall in the formal parlor! Yes, at one point, Almanzo threw a blacking brush at his sister and it stained the fine wallpaper in the Wilder parlor - a true story!
Oh, yeah, read the book before visiting and you'll see what I mean - - - -
Oh the weather outside is frightful...
Let's take a wint'ry walk through the rest of Greenfield Village's wonderland:
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| City sidewalks, busy sidewalks, dressed in holiday style--- in the air there's a feeling of Christmas... Early 20th century Christmas past. Even though the song, Silver Bells, was written in the early 1950s, I still get a vision in my head of turn-of-the-20th century America every time I hear it, such as what we see here in this picture. The ways Americans began to celebrate Christmas expanded greatly through the 18th and into the 19th centuries, and by the 20th century, their celebrations would be very familiar to the way we celebrate today. |
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| On the other side of the city buildings we have The Village Green~ |
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| And as we stroll down the road a piece, we come across a pond with a covered bridge. At one time, covered bridges, like the Ackley Covered Bridge (1832) seen here were nearly as common as traffic lights are today. Okay, I'm exaggerating a bit, but you catch my drift. |
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| Looking across the pond we see a cottage once belonging to Thomas Edison's grandparents! |
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| I like to call the Ackley Covered Bridge the portal to the past. |
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As the winter days unfold Hearts grow warmer with the cold Peace of mind is all you know On the left is the Cotswold Cottage, center is the Daggett House, then we can see the top part of the Plympton House, and the longer white house on the right is the Susquehanna Plantation House. |
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| Behind the Cotswold Cottage is a rolling country scene... |
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| Looking up the hill we see the Daggett House as well as the Farris Windmill. |
Although built in the mid-18th century, the Daggett House retains a 17th century, post-medieval pattern of construction and interior layout, including a central chimney/hearths. This style of construction continued to be popular in rural New England even after home styles changed into a more contemporary feel, incorporating spacious central-hall plans, for an example.
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| Rumor has it that there will soon be a few heirloom apple trees planted near this house - the Snow apple - for Samuel Daggett had a cider press on his property and made & sold cider to the locals. I hope I'm still around to see these trees come to fruition! |
As we are speaking about Sam's cider, I think we can be reasonably certain that more than likely it was the drink of choice for the family.
Samuel himself wrote:
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"In the year 1763 I made 21 barils of Cyder in 1764 07 barils in 1765 16 barils in 1766 08 barils in 1767 10 barils in 1768 20 barils in 1769 19 barils"  Written in Sam Daggett's own hand. A few former Daggett presenters and I discussed how he actually may have written this at a table near the window opposite the hearth in the great hall! Yes, quite possibly this window here:  Of course, we don't know how the room was fashioned back during his time, but perhaps this window faced his apple orchard or his cider press? Hmmm...and it makes me wonder... |
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| I don't know about you, but to me, seeing and reading the actual words of Samuel Daggett just...I don't know...makes him a bit more real. Yes, I know Samuel and his family were actual people, but because I've heard his name and story so often - for I have visited his home countless times - it almost makes him mythological...just a story to tell the story rather than a real actual human being that once lived. But he and his family did live...and had feelings the same as we do: they felt happiness, sadness, anger, pain, concern, and contentment. |
They celebrated the coming of spring and of the harvest time. They enjoyed church picnics and weddings, and certainly mourned when loved ones, whether friends or family, had passed away - I wonder how Samuel felt making coffins for those in his community, for those he knew?
They spoke of their crops, the weather, told stories, and studied the Bible. One can only imagine the discussions and probably even debates they had of the news of the day - how wonderful it would be to be able to hear conversations and opinions about Paul Revere's famous ride (for it actually did make the papers/broadsides of the time), and the battles of Lexington & Concord that followed...and of the Revolutionary War itself, for I have read that Congregationalists, such as the Daggett family, generally sided with the Patriot cause.
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| So when I visit the Daggett House all dressed as if I were Samuel's friend, (or maybe even Samuel himself, lol), I keep that spirit with me. That's Norm there in this picture with me. He represents a Lutheran minister. |
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| If you are familiar at all with my colonial cabin series depicting our time in the 18th century, then you may know that that entire thing began with a dream I had about this house - the Daggett House - and how I was living in it as a living historian. Well, with the help of some dear friends, that dream has come true, many times over, in fact (click HERE). But instead of being in the Daggett House, we are in the Waterloo cabin. |
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| It was cold with a bitter wind a-blowing on the day we came a-calling. The warm fire felt wonderful. |
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| History conversations abounded... Most of the presenters inside Greenfield Village know me well enough that I have a good knowledge of history, as does Norm, therefore, we can strike up a good conversation. |
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| Spying a house from the 1620s from inside a mid-18th century house. That's what makes Greenfield Village so amazing! |
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| This is a combination of two pictures - both taken within minutes of each other. I took the shot of Norm, and he took the picture of me. I blended the two images together into one. |
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| Old man winter has struck, though we didn't get nearly the amount of snow they received in northern Michigan and in mid-north Pennsylvania. With Sam Daggett living in the northern colony/state of Connecticut, he certainly received his fait share of winter weather, especially given the fact that the Daggetts lived during the time known as "the little ice age." |
The Little Ice Age, most pronounced in the North Atlantic region, but also affecting Europe and North America, lasted from the early 14th century (early 1300s) to the mid-19th century (around 1850), and was characterized by bitter winters and mild summers.
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| At the Giddings house. This was built around the same period as the Daggett House (mid-1700s). However, whereas the Daggett is a farm house, Giddings was more "city" - often called "The Mansion House" due to its size and structural appearance. Original owner, John Giddings, was a merchant while Sam Daggett was a farmer. |
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| Next to the Giddings House is the Noah Webster House. And next to Webster's House is the Robert Frost House. Looking through the window from inside the Webster dining room, I snapped a picture of the side of the Robert Frost House. Frost was a noted American poet, and lived here in the 1920s when this house was still located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. |
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| Here's a small structure I don't believe I've ever posted about: the Office of Luther Burbank. |
Luther Burbank (1849 - 1926) was an American botanist, horticulturist, and a pioneer in agricultural science. It was in this office, originally built in either 1903 or 1906 (depending on which Greenfield Village information you believe), that Burbank developed many of the over 800 strains and varieties of plants creations, including the fruits and vegetables department. His most success came with the Elberta peach, the Santa Rosa plum, the Flaming Gold nectarine, the Burbank potato, the Fire poppy, and the Shasta daisy - this with only an elementary education.
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| Here is Burbank's original desk inside the office. |
Next we have a house that has been closed up way too long, the birthplace of George Matthew Adams. In fact, since they closed this house up (around 2012), they brought the Detroit Central Market and the Jackson House to Greenfield Village. Sorry, but they should be taking care of what they already have before re-erecting anything new.
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| The house here is the birthplace of George Matthew Adams (1878 - 1962), the son of a Baptist minister, and was built in 1833 in Saline, Michigan. Young George Adams grew up to become a well-known newspaper writer, and Henry Ford took great pleasure in the inspirational writings of his faith-oriented "Today's Talk" column. On several occasions, Adams visited Greenfield Village and stayed in his childhood home while there. |
I've heard rumors that it was closed up due to ground issues.
Fix it then! Though none of the other houses near it are having issues.
I've also heard that rather than show the 1870s, they wanted to show it as it was in the 1840s.
Do it then!
I remember this house at Christmas, all decorated and open for Holiday Nights. It was wonderful.
Do you see the tiny gray building next to the Adams House in the above picture? That was once the "cabin" (built in 1896) of Charles Steinmetz. Charles Steinmetz is credited with more than one hundred electrical inventions.
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| It was a teeny building with only a hammock to sleep on, but it was Steinmetz's get-away. This winter view is looking out the back windows. |
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| Norm portrays a Lutheran minister of the 18th century. This man has researched the clothing, prayers, and history of who he represents. Here he is seemingly as a New Englander of the 18th century, with the Martha-Mary Chapel there behind him. |
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| The Eagle Tavern, in my opinion, has not only the best food of any restaurant, but the best atmosphere and dining experience. So here we are. trudging through the snow to get to the tavern. |
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| Did I say best atmosphere? They keep the home fires burning... |
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| A-waiting our meal... we both ordered roast beef. It's my favorite meal here. |
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| Yes, I took a couple of vignette pictures... Daylight and candlelight and fireplace light--- who can ask for anything more?
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| Meanwhile, in the pub... |
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| On my way out I snapped this of the Henry Ford Farm, which was where he was born in 1863. |
The horses used in Greenfield Village are Percherons, for they are known for their high endurance and strength. According to Brian Egen, "Percheron horses traditionally carried knights in full battle armor. Eventually, Percherons were used to till the land, pull large wagons, and power machinery in both cities and farms. Their long and extensive relationship working with people is what makes them docile and easygoing, ideal traits for draft animals."
(from the book The Horses of Greenfield Village by Mary Potts and Pamela K. Smith -- click HERE)
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| The horses are very well-maintained inside the Village, and the horse handlers are at work tending to the animals by 7:30 in the morning, no matter the season or the day (including Christmas Day!). |
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| The red barn you see there in the background is the William Ford Barn. This barn was built in 1863 - the same year as Henry's birth - by Henry's father, William, at Springwells Township (now a part of Dearborn), Michigan. It was originally located across the road from the family homestead and stored grain and hay and, at times, tools and livestock. This barn continues to house the horses that pull the carriages filled with the visitors through Greenfield Village. The horses are groomed and harnessed here as well by the horse handlers.. |
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| Something tells me these two horses have a crush on each other! lol The Village also uses Morgans as well, to carry the rangers as well as pull the smaller wagons. However, these two "lovebirds" in the pictures here are Percherons. |
So that was how I spent at least two days of my Thanksgiving weekend.
Being in my period colonial clothing with friends to visit such a historic place...well, it really is difficult to explain...you see, to me it's like having the spirits within the walls of the historic houses immersing me - not in a ghostly eerie evil way...just in an...immersive way; one can almost feel the past.
I often hear the term if these walls could talk...and yet, they do - - - the connection is there. And researching the past beyond the schoolbooks, common history books, and the horrible Facebook memes that some people actually believe as fact, will connect you to the past in ways you'd never thought you'd experience.
By the way, as I mentioned at the very top of this post, the celebrations for our nation's 250th anniversary/birthday have already begun, and I plan to continue to take part. For more information, please check out America 250th.
So, thank you for allowing me to take you on a journey through times past. I hope you enjoyed it.
Until next time, see you in time.
Thank you to Emily Marchetti for taking a few of these pictures.
And HERE is a post with a list of links to many historical structures inside the walls of Greenfield Village.
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