The Funeral Of Henry Ford

[Ryan]

Here's something you don't see every day... The funeral of Henry Ford in a motion picture format. Most of you fellas know the story of Henry's death. Put simply and frankly,... To read the rest of this blog entry from The Ford Barn, click here.

[37 Coupe]

I don't think he died in the same room he was born in ,mayby same county,but he died in his mansion,he was born in a farmhouse.

[Don Rogers]

I wonder about the film footage here. There are 1949 Fords, Lincolns, and Mercurys shown. The 49 Ford wasn't introduced until June of 1948 and Henry died on April 7, 1947, more than 1 year before. Could this be footage of another important person??

[Ryan]

I got both the video and the text for this deal from the Ford archives...

And I screwed up. He died in the same bed that he was born in... Not the same room.

As for the footage, Ford claims it is of Henry's funeral. Obviously, I can't confirm as I wasn't around!

[Ryan]

Finally got an answer from Ford. As it turns out, this footage was mislabeled... It is actually the funeral of Clara Ford - Henry's wife.



I wonder how long it has been mislabeled? She died in September, 1950 of natural causes in the Henry Ford Hospital.

[Deluxe Coupe Chris]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

The River Rouge overflowed which, in turn, flooded the local power station

I do not believe this statement is correct.

The home of Henry Ford (Fair lane) is on the River Rouge and it is powered by hydro-electric generators below the garage. That is the power source that failed because of flooding.

http://www.henryfordestate.org/generatorroom.htm

[Ryan]

Originally Posted by Deluxe Coupe Chris

I do not believe this statement is correct.

The home of Henry Ford (Fair lane) is on the River Rouge and it is powered by hydro-electric generators below the garage. That is the power source that failed because of flooding.

http://www.henryfordestate.org/generatorroom.htm

WOW. That is cool... I had no idea...

[Frank The Plumber]

This Henry Ford museum is on the bucket list.

[Elmo Rodge]

In the opening frames, that's a '50 Lincoln Cosmopolitan so that makes sense. Wayno

[Ross in East Texas]

Henry's mansion is called "Fairlane" and is built on the banks of River Rouge. Yes, he did have a power plant built that takes water from River Rouge to turn the pelton wheels to power his generators to power his estate. I believe he had his friend, Thomas Edison design this power plant. There is a large bank of batteries there of back up also. I used to travel to Detroit every quarter and have gone by here after work to just explore.
I have visited this estate after hours and got to walk all over the grounds, it is very impressive to say the least.
By the way, his boyhood farmhouse in in Greenfield Village, if you get the time you should see this also.

[PeteVS]

A must read for all interested in the people behind the cars is "The Fords, An American Epic" by Peter Collier and David Horowitz. The page dealing with Henry's death explains that the generator room was flooded and the "motors" were under water. I know that I've seen pictures (at least one) of the cars outside the church at his funeral, but they're not in this book. They (it) was probably posted on the old Barn.

[Roadster62]

It was my High School graduation gift back in 1968 you need at least TWO days to see it all.

Originally Posted by Frank The Plumber

This Henry Ford museum is on the bucket list.

[Troublemaker427]

X2

Henry was very self sufficient. He would actually generate his own electricity and sell part of it back to Dearborn. The Fairlane Estate is a must see along with The Henry Ford when you visit Dearborn. Fairlane is now part of the campus of the University of Michigan - Dearborn. Clara donated the property to them after her death. Fairlane was named after Henry's fathers farm in Scotland.

Originally Posted by Ross in East Texas

Henry's mansion is called "Fairlane" and is built on the banks of River Rouge. Yes, he did have a power plant built that takes water from River Rouge to turn the pelton wheels to power his generators to power his estate. I believe he had his friend, Thomas Edison design this power plant. There is a large bank of batteries there of back up also. I used to travel to Detroit every quarter and have gone by here after work to just explore.
I have visited this estate after hours and got to walk all over the grounds, it is very impressive to say the least.
By the way, his boyhood farmhouse in in Greenfield Village, if you get the time you should see this also.

[nagramos]

Sad day. Pages below from Life Magazine, 1947.

[Harms Way]

Ryan,

I actually have a number of professional photographs of Henry's Funeral,... When his body was laid out in Lovette Hall, at Green Field Village,.. And as they were taking him out of the Church to be taken for interment,.... I would post them if you would like,... (I never posted them before as I felt some would think they were to gruesome)

There is 7 more,... let me know if you want me to post them,....

[Troublemaker427]

I'd like to see them. It's history.

[Troublemaker427]

Just saw the below on another forum. If you want to visit Fairlane, better do it soon.
"Fairlane is closing for 2 years at the end of this year as the Ford family are planning to spend big money tp restore it."

Originally Posted by Troublemaker427

X2

Henry was very self sufficient. He would actually generate his own electricity and sell part of it back to Dearborn. The Fairlane Estate is a must see along with The Henry Ford when you visit Dearborn. Fairlane is now part of the campus of the University of Michigan - Dearborn. Clara donated the property to them after her death. Fairlane was named after Henry's fathers farm in Scotland.

[Harms Way]

Originally Posted by Troublemaker427

I'd like to see them. It's history.

They are currently in the capable hands, of our fearless leader Ryan, to do with as he sees fit,.....

[Dennis/Arkansas]

The car Henry is standing in front of is interesting. I assume the car is a '21 Model. It appears to have the "green visored lenses" that were used briefly in 1921. The steering wheel appears to be a "Fatman" wheel or am I imagining things. Dennis/Arkansas

[raceron1120]

Originally Posted by Troublemaker427

Just saw the below on another forum. If you want to visit Fairlane, better do it soon.
"Fairlane is closing for 2 years at the end of this year as the Ford family are planning to spend big money to restore it."

I didn't know it was closing either, we'd like to visit it too so will add it to our schedule before too late in the year.

We're also planning to visit Greenfield Village in September, I've been there many many times since I was a kid. We're looking forward to the changes since our last visits - GREAT stuff and "must see" stuff for anyone visiting the area.

This is a great thread, lots and lots of interesting info about the Ford family.

[decker]

http://www.henryfordestate.org/index.html

Well... there's another hour I'll never get back... but I'm a sucker for history and architecture. I've done a bit of exploring and reading about Ford's exploits in Michigan's Upper Peninsula over the years. On one of my favorite U.P. rivers (I also paddle whitewater) to get to the river we walk about two miles on the former railbed for trains that carried timber for Ford automobiles... long abandoned but it's still a unique feeling.



M-35, Kingsford, Big Bay... the elusive Huron Mountain Club... there's a lot to read on a cold winter day about Mr. Ford and the titans of industry.

I have an original (but rotted) piece of door wood from my Model A that I plan to release back to it's ancestral home the next time I'm up there paddling.



Here's a great little read... http://www.michiganhighways.org/inde...huronmtns.html

[frankster]

Guys, my dad was at the funeral of Henry Ford, the burial I should say. He road his bike to the event (he was 13 at thetime) and was in a picture that was in the news paper the next day. My dad said the back of his head was in the picture. Anyone have a copy of the paper from the day? Not sure of the exact date but just after April 7, 1947. Also, I'm not sure the paper name back then but maybe the Det News.
Any help would be greatly appreciated, I'd like to find it while my dad is still around.

[Vic Piano]

It's sad that even the Ford Archives can't keep things documented correctly. Kind of makes you wonder how the EFV8 Club can be so sure of whats correct on '32 to '48 Ford Motor Company vehicles... I'm just saying, you be the judge.