The Henry Ford Commemorates America's 250th Anniversary

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Dec 09, 2025, 08:30 ET

Opening of the Historic Jackson Home, Two Major Exhibitions, and Year-Long Programming Announced

DEARBORN, Mich., Dec. 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Henry Ford will honor the nation's 250th birthday with America: 250 Years in the Making, a year-long celebration exploring American innovation powered by people and purpose.

The Jackson Home, now more than 100 years old, is a unique time capsule documenting one of the most momentous movements in U.S. history: the Selma to Montgomery marches — a sustained effort to ensure that all Americans would have the civil rights and voting rights promised to them. The home will open to visitors in Greenfield Village in June of 2026.

The centerpiece of this milestone will be the public opening of the Jackson Home in Greenfield Village the week of June 9, 2026. Once the modest residence of Dr. Sullivan and Richie Jean Sherrod Jackson in Selma, Alabama, the home served as a strategic meeting place for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and fellow leaders as they planned the Selma-to-Montgomery Marches of 1965. Acquired by The Henry Ford in 2023 and relocated to Greenfield Village in 2024, the home's debut will be marked by a Village-wide block party featuring live music, performances, food, and community celebration.

Two major exhibitions will also anchor the anniversary programming at the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation:

Handmade: The Crafting of America
March 21, 2026 – January 18, 2027
This exhibition explores 250 years of American craft, examining the ideas, traditions, and innovations that drive how and why people create.
Fabric of America: Our Fashions, Textiles, and Technologies
June 7 – September 13, 2026
Drawing from The Henry Ford's extensive fashion and textile collections, this exhibition presents more than 250 years of design and material culture, illustrating how clothing and textiles have both reflected and shaped American identity.

Throughout 2026, The Henry Ford will introduce new programming across its venues, offering audiences of all ages opportunities to engage with the nation's history of ingenuity, creativity, and resilience.

About The Henry Ford
Located in Dearborn, Michigan, The Henry Ford, a globally recognized destination, fosters inspiration and learning from hands-on encounters with artifacts that represent the most comprehensive collection anywhere focusing on innovation, ingenuity and resourcefulness in America. Its unique venues include Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, Greenfield Village, Ford Rouge Factory Tour, Benson Ford Research Center and Henry Ford Academy, a public charter high school. Together with its online presence at thf.org and Invention Convention Worldwide, the growing affiliation of organizations fostering innovation, invention and entrepreneurship in K-12 students, The Henry Ford is a force for inspiring every individual to innovate, create and invent.

SOURCE The Henry Ford