Henry Ford's Honeymoon House / Henry Ford's Honeymoon House

Henry Ford and Clara Bryant were married on April 11, 1888. Soon afterwards construction of this house, known as both the Honeymoon House and the Square House, began in Dearborn. Ford built the one-bedroom house himself using timber cut and sawed at his sawmill. The specifications for the kitchen, sitting room, parlor, and bedroom were provided by his bride. Later Ford added his workship, where he often experimented with gasoline engines. In 1891 the Fords left this house for Detroit where Ford’s career as an automaker began. They kept the house as a summer cottage until 1937. Ford then gave it to a friend, Robert Smith, now known for his soybean research. After the Fords died, the land on which the house stood was acquired by the Ford Land Development Corporation. Smith was told to move the house or tear it down. He moved it here on the anniversary of Ford’s birthday, July 30, 1952. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.