Rooted in the rhythms of work, family, and tradition that defined the nineteenth-century rural Midwest, Clara and Henry Ford may have seemed unlikely contenders to radically change the touchstones of American society. Yet, together they created a world and forged a legacy that transformed the lives of their fellow citizens everywhere, from the boardrooms of Manhattan to the kitchen tables of rural Mississippi.

Henry’s most celebrated innovations, the auto assembly line and the living wage, sparked sea changes, including large-scale industrial production and mass consumerism, the expansion of the middle class, immigration, and migration of masses to America’s northern cities. At the same time, he eased passage through this torrent of transformation with his promotion of reform, advocacy of the workingman, and allegiance to populist values—becoming a folk hero and one of the first celebrities of mass culture. Henry also broke new ground in the vanguard of environmental stewardship, leading the way in industrial recycling at Ford Motor Company’s immense River Rouge plant as well as in ventures such as the firm he launched with E.G. Kingsford to make charcoal briquettes using the scrap wood from his sawmill and parts plant.

At every point in the remarkable trajectory of Henry’s career, Clara was his indispensable partner—a confidant in business matters as well as a companion sharing personal interests. Moreover, she was influential at pivotal points in the history of Ford Motor Company. Clara is credited with influencing the extension of the “five dollar day” wage policy to the company’s office workers; and convincing her husband to sign an agreement with the autoworkers union to end a raging labor conflict. Henry’s strong anti-union sentiments, grounded in his notions about individual responsibility, met their match in Clara’s convictions. The model of Victorian decorum, Clara also possessed a strength of will and morality that fueled her passion for her numerous philanthropic pursuits and social reform projects, aligned with the growing activism of women in the Progressive Era of the early 20th century.

Clara and Henry Ford had one child, Edsel who married Eleanor Lowthian Clay in 1916. Eleanor and Edsel raised a family of four: Henry II, Benson, Josephine and William Clay. Their home in Grosse Pointe Shores is open to the public today as the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House.

The Project:
On June 27, 2013, ownership of the Henry Ford Estate transferred from the University of Michigan to Henry Ford Estate, Inc., a new 501c3 nonprofit. With the transfer, Fair Lane became united with the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan. Both estates are now under the operational umbrella of the Historic Ford Estates.

With transfer complete, the Henry Ford Estate Board of Trustees is initiating a complex project to restore, reimagine and reopen Fair Lane, beginning with a strategic planning initiative in 2014.