Henry Ford's Many Mansions

with manufacturing plants on six continents  odds are you've seen a ford on the roads hi   everyone ken here welcome to this house today  we are exploring the homes of henry ford   make sure to hit that subscribe button so you  never miss an exciting episode of this house !  henry ford came from humble beginnings both of  his parents had immigrated to the united states to   find a better life they established a modest farm  in michigan where henry would become curious about   the interworkings of the various machines used on  the farm henry never received any formal education   nonetheless he became very knowledgeable about  the machines he was around repairing them and   tinkering with them he gained such a reputation  as a mechanic in a small community that when he   applied for a job at the edison illuminating  company he was employed as an engineer his   innate ability stood out to his manager and he was  quickly promoted to the position of chief engineer   thomas edison worked closely with the young savant  encouraging him to experiment with the use of   gasoline and engines an experiment that would lead  henry to develop his own automobile engine within   a couple years henry left the edison illuminating  company to start the ford motor company and by   1908 he had produced the model t an affordable  car designed for mass production in 1911   he had manufacturing plants in three countries  ford had dominated the automobile industry   and had amassed a fortune while doing so  but he would never forget his humble roots   before building his dream house he made sure  his workers were taken care of even though he   was opposed to unions he still integrated policies  to make sure his workers were taken care of he put   a 40 hour per week work limit on each employee  hiring men and women to fill any available role   he paid every worker the same amount 5 per day or  adjusting for inflation the modern-day equivalent   of nearly twenty dollars per hour though adjusting  for buying power across all daily commodities his   workers would have earned the equivalent of nearly  thirty dollars per hour with a clear conscience   knowing that his workers could live comfortable  lives he went on to enjoy his wealth together with   his wife clara the couple scouted a 1300 acre lot  sitting along the rogue river in dearborn michigan   they initially hired frank lloyd wright to design  their home but would end up cycling through four   different architects each working off the sketches  of the last until their vision could be realized   which led to a rather eclectic mix of  the prairie style and tudor revival style   composing the 56-room mansion construction started  but not without respects being paid to the man who   pushed henry ford to become the businessman he was  henry invited thomas edison to lay the cornerstone   before the builders got started at 31 000 square  feet and with so many small rooms the house dubbed   fair lane felt cozy unlike the grand palaces  associated with many of the barons of industry   the house was meant to be used as a family home  and included spaces such as a bowling alley   and an indoor pool though much of the time was  spent outdoors enjoying the wooded landscape   walking into the home you would pass through  an anti-haul in line with frank lloyd wright's   designs you would be compressed by a low ceiling  before being released into a larger space unlike   wright's designs the stair hall was heavily  ornamented and shared the likeness of an english   manor house though some room stayed more true  to wright's vision as we can see exposed stone   walls and the sun porch carrying the exterior of  the home inside the dining room mixed elements of   classical design with frank lloyd wright's simple  geometry lending the wall panels to appear as   a precursor to the art deco style the music room  varied from this design practice by harkening back   to the gilded age glamour white wood panels were  set below plasters capping off at the freeze below   a jacobian ceiling the oversized hearth dominated  the wall with contrasting wood tones each section   boasting elaborate relief work the living room  carried on the same decor theme as the music room   but with unpainted wood paneling and plasters the  plaster ceiling was less geometric with simple   shapes connected by a vine motif even the smaller  rooms such as the library were equally as ornate   the library contained a barrel vaulted ceiling  with ornate wood trims surrounding built-in   bookcases in a stone fireplace in 1916 the ford  family set out to find a vacation home in florida   they fell in love with a humble bungalow named the  mangoes and promptly offered twenty two thousand   dollars to purchase the property or the modern day  equivalent of about six hundred thousand dollars   the house was perfect not only was it next door  to the edison's vacation home but it was more   reminiscent of henry's childhood home the family  would camp on the beach make their own meals in   the kitchen and square dance in the living room  they would spend 20 quaint years vacationing to   this house but fort myers florida was becoming  a tourist trap the area had lost the quaint   charm that first drew them to it and they started  looking for a new vacation property they found a   beautiful old plantation home in savannah georgia  that had been built in 1825 it was in major need   of repair but the bricks and stones that composed  it had weathered in the most elegant way the forts   could not resist the alluring aesthetic of  the 100 year old brick so they purchased the   property but they did not like the location with  the utmost care they had the house disassembled   with plans to reassemble it wherever they would  find their ideal setting for a vacation house   continuing their property search in georgia they  were shown a large tract of land and waste station   the 85 000 acre tract was not ocean front but  a river wrapped around it this was the perfect   setting for their new vacation home scrapping  the plans to reassemble the plantation house   they commissioned an architect to design a 7 000  square foot home that could use all the brick they   had salvaged from the plantation interestingly  enough the spot they decided to build on had   formerly been a plantation house which had been  burned down by general sherman's troops in 1864   during the civil war the only parts of the former  plantation that were still intact were the row of   oaks lining the drive and a rice mill which henry  would convert into his workshop the house would   become known as richmond plantation and would  eventually see 400 more homes built on its grounds   in honor of the ford's presence in the town way  station was renamed to the town of richmond hill   today all three of henry ford's houses are still  standing fairlane is currently being used as a   space for a non-profit organization the mangoes  is open as a museum along with thomas edison's   vacation home the richmond plantation has been  placed on the national register of historic places   and is now privately owned which of these three  homes was your favorite let me know down below in   the comments section and make sure to hit that  subscribe button so you never miss an exciting   episode of this house as always i'd like to thank  you all for watching and extend a special thank   you to our this house supporters whose names you  can see on screen right now if you would like to   see your name on the screen join our membership  program today i'll see you next time on this house!

Channel: This House

Views: 360,692

Keywords: Henry Ford, henry ford biography, henry ford documentary, ford, Mangoes, Richmond Hills, Dearborn, Model T, Fairlane, mansion, gilded age, palace, history, history shows, historical photos, old, famous, interesting, this house, what is this, what is This, history tour, history documentary, documentary, documentaries, architecture, historic architecture, american castle, us history, architectural history, luxury, the gilded age, palace tour, home tour, castle, estate

Id: QO2JN0HC8fs

Length: 7min 16sec (436 seconds)

Published: Sun Jun 12 2022