Greenfield Village, others ready for Ford's 100th birthday

July 1, 2002 AP reported that Ford Motor Co.'s 100th anniversary will be celebrated next June at a series of events hosted by Greenfield Village and other historical landmarks built or supported by Henry Ford.

A group of Ford engineers already has built six Model T's for use in parades, company outings and tours around Greenfield Village, the 200-acre history park founded by Ford in 1929.

The Dearborn village includes Ford's first factory, home and garage where he built his first automobile -- the Quadricycle.

To celebrate the Model T and the history of the world's No. 2 automaker, Ford officials and others are planning a series of celebrations running from June 12-16. Ford Motor Co. was incorporated on June 16, 1903.

"We are preparing for one of the most exciting periods Greenfield Village and Henry Ford Museum has ever seen," Christian Overland, director of Greenfield Village, told The Detroit News for a story Sunday.

Apart from Ford's centennial, Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Orville and Wilbur Wright's first manned flight, which occurred on Dec. 17, 1903, above the dunes of Kitty Hawk, N.C.

The village has the original Wright Brothers bicycle shop and home where the pair developed the world's first manned aircraft in Dayton, Ohio.