The Henry Ford

In June 2026, the Jackson Home will open as the first home to be added to Greenfield Village’s collection in more than 40 years. The Henry Ford is restoring the home to its condition in 1965, a landmark year in the fight for civil rights during which the Jackson family played a crucial role in the Selma to Montgomery marches.

As our experts peel back the layers of the home, they have found marks made by the three families who lived there over the last century. For example, removing a 1970s layer of drywall exposed many layers of flooring, paint, wallpaper and shadows of the original cupboards seen in historic photographs.

See more evidence uncovered during the Jackson Home’s restoration in “The Road to 1965: A Journey of Discovery,” a temporary collection spotlight on display at Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation. links.thf.org/4oLQgsx

🏠 Learn more about the Jackson Home at links.thf.org/4kxdHnM.

Image: Jackson Home Kitchen, 2025

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The Henry Ford

These bicycle prototypes were created as part of Ford Motor Company's 2015 Mode:Flex initiative, which reflected the company’s efforts to be a “mobility provider” for the future. The power-assisted bike was designed to be easily disassembled for compact storage and had interchangeable city, road and mountain bike configurations. An iPhone app controlled the electric motor, monitored the rider's speed and heart rate, and provided navigation assistance and traffic updates.

➡️ Read the full story on our blog at links.thf.org/4pcb7Fc.

➡️ See a Mode:Flex prototype and other cycling innovations on display now in “Bicycles: Powering Possibilities.” Learn more about this temporary Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation exhibition at links.thf.org/45Z3GdV. 🚲

Image 1: Ford "Mode:Flex" Functional Bicycle Prototype, 2015

Image 2: Ford "Mode:Flex" Non-Functional Bicycle Prototype, 2015

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The Henry Ford

“When the gales of November came slashin’ …” The Edmund Fitgerald sank in Lake Superior 50 years ago on the dark, stormy night of November 10, 1975. Launched in 1958 as the largest ship on the Great Lakes, the freighter hauled taconite pellets (a form of iron ore) from ports near Duluth, Minnesota, across the Great Lakes.

A record-setter and favorite of boat-watchers, the Fitzgerald departed Superior, Wisconsin, on November 9, 1975, only to be caught the next day in a fierce storm with near–hurricane-force winds and 35-foot waves. She sank shortly after 7 p.m., and all 29 crewmen aboard perished. The exact cause of the sinking remains unknown, but the tragedy spurred new shipping regulations and inspired lasting memorials.

Moved by the loss, Michigan artist Kathy Jakobsen created this highly stylized ink and watercolor tribute in 1977. Jakobsen was employed at The Henry Ford in the 1970s, hand-lettering certificates for adult classes. Encouraged by curatorial staff to pursue art professionally, she relocated to New York City. Today, her paintings appear in major museum collections, including the American Folk Art Museum and the Smithsonian.

Image: "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," Drawing by Kathy Jakobsen, 1977, links.thf.org/4oyAPUs

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The Henry Ford

In 1935, Parker Brothers launched its version of Monopoly, which went on to become the most popular board game in history. Monopoly derived from The Landlord’s Game, patented by Elizabeth Magie in 1904 with the original intention of pointing out the inequities of wealth. In today’s game, however, Monopoly's fun comes from amassing piles of play money and winning it all.

Find more historical board games in The Henry Ford’s Digital Collections: links.thf.org/3LKevs9.

Image: Monopoly Game, 1954-1960, links.thf.org/43fEkq7

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The Henry Ford

200 years ago, in October 1825, New York Governor DeWitt Clinton left Buffalo for New York City on a ceremonial voyage along the newly completed Erie Canal. The 363-mile waterway connected the Atlantic Ocean (via the Hudson River) with Lake Erie, transforming transportation between the East Coast and the Great Lakes. Celebrate the canal’s bicentennial and learn more about other early American canals in our latest expert set: links.thf.org/4hBndVL.

Image: "Western End of the Great Erie Canal, " 1828-1830, links.thf.org/3LdMmtw

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The Henry Ford

In commemoration of Veterans Day, join us on Tuesday, November 11, to honor and pay tribute to those military members, living and deceased, who have served our country in war and peace.

As a small token of our appreciation, The Henry Ford invites all active-duty military personnel, veterans and their families to visit Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation at no cost in honor of the observed holiday.

Special Programming:
🔹 “Innovators Who Served” collections tour in the Museum Plaza at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Simply present a valid military ID upon entry. Learn more: links.thf.org/4hGMEFw

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The Henry Ford

Next June, the Jackson Home will open in Greenfield Village, appearing inside and out the way it did in 1965 Selma, Alabama. The home comes to The Henry Ford with inspiring stories from the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement. It also carries stories of three African American dentists and their families who lived there between 1919-1965, each leaving their own marks on the home.

For Dr. William and Leola Whitted, the home was a new build, an Arts & Crafts single-story southern bungalow commissioned as a wedding gift by Leola’s father.
Later, in the early 1950s, Dr. Eric Portlock (a cousin of Leola) and his wife Bennie moved in as tenants and made changes: a large rear addition, fashionable new salmon-colored siding, and floral wallpapers that reflected Bennie’s love for gardening, flowers and colors.

The home changed hands again when it was inherited by Richie Jean Sherrod Jackson, also a cousin of Leola Whitted. From 1958 onward, Richie Jean and her husband Dr. Sullivan Jackson added modern touches to the home, painting over aging wallpaper and installing new carpet. It was during this time period that Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his associates were frequent guests in the home as they planned the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches.

In 2023, Sullivan and Richie Jean Jackson’s daughter, Jawana, asked The Henry Ford to acquire and preserve the home. In a tireless journey, the home was relocated to Greenfield Village, where it is being restored to its appearance during those pivotal moments when it was a safe haven for Dr. King.

➡️ Read the fascinating history of the Jackson Home and the families who lived there: links.thf.org/47QLVhu.

📷 Image 1: Dr. Sullivan Jackson in front of the Jackson Home, circa 1999
📷 Image 2: Birthday party for Rose Marie Foster (seated) hosted by Bennie Portlock (behind Rose), circa 1953
📷 Image 3: The kitchen of the Jackson Home, 1959
📷 Image 4: Jawana Jackson in front of the Jackson Home, circa 1963
📷 Image 5: Jawana Jackson in the front of the Jackson Home, Easter 1967

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The Henry Ford

Happy Hallowe’en! 🎃 Trick-or-treating was an established custom for children in the United States by the 1950s. As trick-or-treating became increasingly popular, manufacturers developed products like treat bags and smaller versions of popular candy to facilitate the tradition. Each of these treat bags was on the market during the 1960s and early 70s.

Images: Halloween Treat Bags, 1960-1972

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The Henry Ford

Halloween trick-or-treating became common throughout America by 1950. Costumed children could receive a variety of goodies – coins, toys, fruits, nuts or even baked goods. 

Over the years, pre-packaged candy became the treat of choice. In the late 1950s, the Curtiss Candy Company made small, two-cent-sized Baby Ruth candy bars to hand out to bell-ringing goblins. 🍫

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The Henry Ford

As The Henry Ford works to restore the Jackson Home to its 1965 condition and open it to public display next summer, historic photographs taken in the early 1960s have been invaluable in re-creating the home’s interiors. This Jet Magazine photo shows the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his aides meeting in young Jawana Jackson’s bedroom when he stayed with the Jackson family in March 1965.

Visible behind King are paper wall decorations, part of a “Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep” set that, along with other nursery rhyme wall plaques, decorated Jawana’s bedroom in the 1960s. While the decorations were removed sometime prior to 1972, photos like the one of “King’s Court,” along with ghosting on the walls that showed outlines of the decorations, helped The Henry Ford identify and obtain identical pieces that will adorn the bedroom’s walls when the home opens in Greenfield Village.

➡️ Learn more about stories our experts have uncovered while peeling back the layers of the Jackson Home in “The Road to 1965: A Journey of Discovery,” on temporary display in Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation near “Your Place in Time.” links.thf.org/3J12CgP

🏠 Find more information on the Jackson Home, opening in Greenfield Village in June 2026, at links.thf.org/4kxdHnM.

Image 1: Page from 33 March 1965 Jet Magazine, "King's Court," Dr. Martin Luther King and Aides Meet in Jackson Family Home, Selma, Alabama

Image 2: "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep" Wall Decoration Set, 1948-1968

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