Fair Lane was the estate of

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...

founder Henry Ford and his wife, Clara Ford, in

Dearborn, Michigan Dearborn is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring Metro Detroit, suburb of Detroit, Dearborn borders Detroit to the south and west, roughly west of downtown Detroit. In the 2020 United States ...

, United States. It was named after an area in Cork, Ireland, where Ford's adoptive grandfather, Patrick Ahern, was born. The estate along the River Rouge included a large

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

house, an electrical power plant on the dammed river, a greenhouse, a boathouse, riding stables, a children's playhouse, a treehouse, and extensive landmark gardens designed by

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

landscape architect Jens Jensen. The residence and part of the estate grounds are open to the public as a historical landscape and house

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

, and preserved as a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

. Part of the estate grounds are preserved as a university nature study area.

Architecture

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...

participated in the initial design. However, after Wright fled to Europe with his mistress Mamah Borthwick, one of his assistant architects, Marion Mahony Griffin, one of the first female architects in America, revised and completed the design according to her own interpretation of the Prairie Style. Henry Ford and his wife took a trip to Europe and, on their return, dismissed Griffin and used William H. Van Tine to add English Manor house details. In 1913, architect Joseph Nathaniel French was brought in to work on the final stages of the residence, completed in 1915. The house, with 56 rooms, was considered befitting, but less grand than other great houses and

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...

s of the era in America. It included an indoor pool and bowling alley. The pool is now covered over and serves as an event and meeting space. It had formerly housed a restaurant.

Landscape

The powerhouse had its cornerstone laid by

Thomas Alva Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February11, 1847October18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions ...

. The building included the estate's garage and, on the upper level, a laboratory where Ford worked on engine designs. It is also built of limestone in the Prairie Style. The

hydropower Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, ...

not only powered the estate, but a part of the town of Dearborn as well. Jens Jensen employed his "delayed view" approach in designing the arrival at the residence. Instead of proceeding straight to the house or even providing a view of it, the entrance drive leads visitors through the estate's dense

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...

areas. Bends in the drive, planted with large trees on the inside arc of the curves, gives a feeling of a natural reason for the turn, and obscures any long view. Suddenly, the visitor is propelled out of the forest and into the open space where the residence is presented fully in view in front of them. The idea of wandering was one which Jensen featured in almost all of his designs. Expansive meadows and gardens make up the larger landscape, with naturalistic massings of flowers surrounding the house. The largest axial meadow, the "Path of the Setting Sun", is aligned so that, on the

summer solstice The summer solstice or estival solstice occurs when one of Earth's poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). The summer solstice is the day with the longest peri ...

, the setting sun glows through a precise parting of the trees at the meadow's western end. The boathouse, with stonework cliffs designed by Jensen, allowed Ford to travel on the Rouge River in his electric boat.

Museum

The estate was donated to the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

in 1957 for a new Dearborn campus. The staff's former houses and a pony barn are used by the University of Michigan–Dearborn. The main house, powerhouse, garage and 72 acres (0.29 km²) of land were operated as a museum, while a restaurant occupied the former indoor swimming pool natatorium until the University closed Fair Lane to the public in 2010. In 2013 the stewardship of the estate was transferred to the same non-profit group that operates the lakeside Edsel and Eleanor Ford House, with financial help from the Ford family.

Names

The private rail car of Henry and Clara Ford, named "Fair Lane", was kept on standby at the Ford siding of the

Michigan Central Railroad The Michigan Central Railroad (reporting mark MC) was originally chartered in 1832 to establish rail service between Detroit, Michigan, and St. Joseph, Michigan. The railroad later operated in the states of Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois in th ...

in Dearborn. The Ford Fairlane automobile model, sold between 1955 and 1970 in America, and between 1959 and 2007 in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, was named after the Fair Lane estate.

Gallery

File:Fair Lane (Clara and Henry Ford Mansion), Fair Lane Drive, Fairlane, Dearborn, MI - 54272601727.jpg, Northeast side File:Fair Lane (Clara and Henry Ford Mansion), Fair Lane Drive, Fairlane, Dearborn, MI - 54273487456.jpg, Northern corner File:Fair Lane (Clara and Henry Ford Mansion), Fair Lane Drive, Fairlane, Dearborn, MI - 54273740139.jpg, South side File:Fair Lane (Clara and Henry Ford Mansion), Fair Lane Drive, Fairlane, Dearborn, MI - 54273916055.jpg, Blue Garden Image:Henry and Clara Ford Statues at Fair Lane.jpg, Henry and Clara Ford Statues Image:Early Rose Garden at Fair Lane.jpg, Early Rose Garden Image:HenryFordEstatePowerHouse.jpg, Power house File:Fair Lane from across river.jpg, View from across the Rouge River

References

External links

Henry Ford Estate

Virtual tour of the Henry and Clara Ford 'Fair Lane' estate.
* * * {{Authority control Henry Ford Buildings and structures in Dearborn, Michigan Gardens in Michigan Houses in Wayne County, Michigan Historic house museums in Michigan Museums in Wayne County, Michigan Open-air museums in Michigan Architecture museums in the United States Houses completed in 1913 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Michigan State Historic Sites in Wayne County, Michigan National Register of Historic Places in Wayne County, Michigan National Historic Landmarks in Metro Detroit Landscape design history of the United States Tourist attractions in Metro Detroit Historic American Buildings Survey in Michigan Historic American Landscapes Survey in Michigan 1913 establishments in Michigan Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan MotorCities National Heritage Area Marion Mahony Griffin Gilded Age mansions