Feature Article

Henry Ford (left) and son Edsel enjoy a casual moment in an otherwise-strenuos relationship. Photo: The Ford Motor Company

The Auto
Barons' Legacy

by Helen W. O'Guinn

During the early part of the 20th century, the auto industry made many individuals wealthy and some fabulously wealthy. Although other cities also had auto fortunes, no city claimed more than Motor City: Detroit.

Today, three mansions built by auto-baron fortunes stand testament to an opulent era, come and gone. While the owners, too, are gone, their shadows flicker from room to room—most notably in the Edsel and Eleanor Ford house, and in Matilda Dodge Wilson's Meadow Brook Hall, where most of the furnishings and photographs remain. At Fair Lane, Henry and Clara Ford's home, administrators are struggling to reacquire pieces and have old photographs of the home in its heyday, but the scent of an inventor still permeates the home.

Meadow Brook Hall

Born in 1888 as the daughter of a tavern owner, Matilda Rausch grew up to become secretary to John Dodge, an automobile parts manufacturer. In 1907 the two married and a few years later he began to manufacture cars. With the wealth that came from the auto business, the couple bought a 320-acre farm near Rochester, a far northern suburb today, as a retreat. In 1920 John Dodge died suddenly, leaving Matilda one of the richest women in America.

Matilda later married Alfred Wilson, and the two built Meadow Brook Hall on the Rochester farmland. Completed in 1929 at a cost of $4 million, the house encompassed 104 rooms, including sewing and pressing rooms, a beauty parlor and 10 staff bedrooms. Although furnishings came from around the world, the Wilsons were proud that all the craftsmanship was done by Americans.

Despite its vast size, Meadow Brook was built as a family home. The children, Frances and Danny Dodge, each had a suite of rooms, with a playroom, guest room and two baths. Matilda and Alfred Wilson later adopted two children, each of whom could choose from any bedroom in the house once they were old enough to leave the nursery. There were playrooms on the fourth floor and a charming game room, with intricate details such as a door lock tooled to look like a checkerboard. A six-room playhouse, built at a cost of $22,000, today houses a fabulous doll collection, child-sized Limoges china and Michigan's first all—electric kitchen.

To its owners, life at Meadow Brook swirled around family, but once the children were grown, the Wilsons decided to leave the home to Oakland University. Surprisingly, the children took little, so the home stands much as it did when the family lived there.

Today's visitors are struck by the mansion's opulence, elegance and even its femininity, especially when peering in Matilda's bedroom.

Fair Lane
"December 24, 1901. Dear Santa Claus, I haven't had any Christmas tree in 4 years & I have broken all my trimmings & I want some more & want a pair of roller skates and a book & can't of think of anything more & want you to think of something more. Good by, Edsel Ford."

Wealth was not always part of the Ford family equation. When Edsel—Henry and Clara Ford's only child—was young, Henry was still a struggling mechanic. In 1903, though, Henry began producing the hugely popular Model T and quickly became a wealthy celebrity.

Eager to escape such fame, the Fords chose a secluded area of Dearborn to build a home. Consumed by work, Henry left construction supervision to Clara—something he'd come to regret. When he walked in the house for the first time in 1914, he exclaimed: "You call this a home?!"

Part castle, part prairie school, the 56-room mansion puts its biggest foot forward with a massive stairway, living room, and dining room that are somewhat cold and uninviting. Beyond these areas, however, there are more inviting rooms such as the sun porch and master bedroom.

Henry Ford was never comfortable in Fair Lane and spent much of his time in the estate's six-story power plant. A naturalist, Ford also watched birds from his own tree house and traipsed through the grounds, designed by noted landscaper Jens Jensen.

It would be remiss to discuss Fair Lane and Ford without mentioning the relationship between Henry and Edsel, a working-class father who raised an upper-crust son. Mincing no words, David L. Lewis, professor of business history at the University of Michigan, says, "Henry Ford loved his son, but as a father, he failed. Edsel was refined, genteel, polite, shy and retiring. Henry wanted him to be tougher, and he was unable to remold him."

Despite father-son friction, Edsel worked faithfully for his father until he died of stomach cancer in 1943 at age 49. Henry suffered a stroke a few months after Edsel's death, and Edsel's son Henry II took over the presidency of the Ford Motor Company in 1945.

The Edsel and Eleanor Ford House
Although Lewis calls Edsel Ford's life one of the sadder stories in automotive biography, his home life was happy. In 1916, he married Eleanor Clay and they became a much-admired pair. The couple chose a 125-acre plot of land, rimming Lake St. Clair in Grosse Pointe Shores, as the site for their home. Designed to look like a 17th-century English manor on the inside and a series of Cotswold cottages on the outside, the home took three years to build and was completed by Christmas 1929.

Of the auto barons' mansions, this home is the most inviting. Despite the size of the library, for example, one can imagine grabbing a novel off a shelf and curling up on a sofa to read. The rooms have a depth and diversity in detail that shows that the Fords didn't go on the ultimate antique and objets d'art shopping spree. Believing that electric lights were harsh and unflattering, Eleanor did not have them in two entertaining areas: the dining room and the 25-by-60-foot gallery. But during a dinner party for 500 on a warm evening, fans brought into the gallery to cool the guests caused candles to dribble wax down upon the dancers' ball gowns. The room was electrified the next year. The dining room, though, never was. Edsel, too, put his imprint on the home. A talented designer in his own right, he hired Walter Dorwin Teague to create a room where the children could entertain friends. The result, dubbed the Modern Room, is a classic example of Art Deco, with leather walls and a built-in stereo.

Outside, the Jens Jensen-designed grounds include a pool, recreation house and playhouse. Areas are visually separated from one another, making any stroll a succession of visual surprises.

Eleanor Ford lived in the home until her death in 1976. In her last years, she watched neighboring mansions being torn down, while homes abroad were preserved for the public use. In her will she left the home for "the benefit of the public." In the forward to a book about his grandparents' home, Edsel Ford II wrote, "It is my hope that visitors will view the house, with its unique architectural details, superb collections, inviting ambience and beautiful grounds with the same sense of appreciation and enjoyment that is shared by the Ford family."

The same may be said of all the auto barons' mansions.



Planning Your Trip
Because the auto barons' mansions are scattered throughout the Detroit metropolitan area, allow two days to visit them. It makes best sense to visit the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House and Fair Lane on one day. Meadow Brook Hall is in a northern suburb. The room that once housed the indoor pool at Fair Lane has been converted into an airy restaurant, and there is a restaurant on the grounds of the Eleanor and Edsel Ford home.

For those intrigued by automotive history, Metropolitan Detroit offers the Automotive Hall of Fame, the Walter P. Chrysler Museum, and the Detroit Historical Museum.

More information: Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau, 800-338-7648; www.visitdetroit.com. Meadow Brook Hall, Oakland University, Rochester, 48309; 248- 370-3140. Fair Lane, 4901 Evergreen Rd., Dearborn, 48128; 313-593-5590. Edsel and Eleanor Ford House, 1100 Lake Shore Rd., Grosse Pointe Shores, 48236, 313-884-4222.


Still "Cruisin" After 100 Years
2003 marks the 100th anniversary of the Ford Motor Company. It's a popular misconception that Henry Ford invented the automobile. It's generally conceded that the automobile was conceived and born in Europe.

Henry Ford does get full credit, however, for building automobiles that millions could afford. His guiding philosophy was: "I build a motor car for the great multitude…it will be so low in price that no man…will be unable to own one." A five-day celebration titled The Road is Ours will be held June 12-16 on the 50-acre grounds of the Henry Ford II World Center in Dearborn, Mich. It will feature one of the world's largest displays of classic, current and concept Ford vehicles; interactive displays and exhibits; children's activities and a concert series. Ford is also partnering with Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village to operate the new visitor center and plant tour. More information: www.ford.com.

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