MotorCities National Heritage Area Offers Tours Of Historic Ford Sites

February 26, 2021 7:20 am

The Detroit Metropolitan Area is ripe with automotive history and is a must-visit for any Blue Oval fan. There, we can check out events like the Woodward Dream Cruise and Mustang Alley, the Mustang Memories show, The Henry Ford Museum, Greenfield Village, and much, much more. But for those that truly want to dive headfirst into Ford’s history in The Motor City, a non-profit called the MotorCities National Heritage Area (MCNHA) is here to help.

The MotorCities National Heritage Area is part of the National Parks Service and helps tell the story of how southeast and central Michigan “Put the World on Wheels.” MotorCities links the world’s largest collection of cultural and labor organizations, museums, archives, factories, auto collections, and events to preserve the story of how tinkerers became titans and how auto and labor helped build the middle class while transforming manufacturing worldwide.

The MCNHA’s website allows us to browse all the destinations, activities, and interests in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, including arts and entertainment, parks, gardens, cemeteries, libraries, archives, museums, historic homes, motorsports, and roadside auto culture via unique guided tours.

This includes destinations like the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant – the birthplace of the Model T – the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House, the Detroit Historical Museum, the Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum, the Gilmore Car Museum, the Roush Automotive Collection, and Henry Ford’s “Village Industries” of the 1920s and ’30s, like Nankin Mills or the Old Mill Museum.

Those heading out to soak in all this history can also pick up a MotorCities National Heritage Area Michigan Passport Book and Stamp Program to log their journey retracing Ford’s contribution to automotive history. Or, they can buy a tax-deductible membership or sponsorship and enjoy admission or store discounts at 15 different attraction partners exclusively for MotorCities members.

We’ll have more Ford history to share soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for 24/7 Ford news coverage.

By Brett Foote

Brett's lost track of all the Fords he's owned over the years and how much he's spent modifying them, but his current money pits include an S550 Mustang and 13th gen F-150.