page_title: Edsel Ford
section_title: Edsel and Eleanor Ford House
hierarchical_section_title: Edsel Ford / Edsel and Eleanor Ford House
caption_attribution_description: English: Edsel and Eleanor Ford
context_page_description: Edsel Bryant Ford was an American business executive and philanthropist who was the son of pioneering industrialist Henry Ford and his wife, Clara Jane Bryant. He was the president of Ford Motor Company from 1919 until his death in 1943. His eldest son was Henry Ford II, who succeeded him as president of Ford.
  He worked closely with his father, as sole heir to the business, but was keen to develop cars more exciting than the Model T, in line with his personal tastes. Even as president, he had trouble persuading his father to allow any departure from this formula. Only a change in market conditions enabled him to develop the more fashionable Model A in 1927. Edsel also founded the Mercury division and was responsible for the Lincoln Zephyr and Lincoln Continental. He introduced important features, such as hydraulic brakes, and greatly strengthened the company's overseas production.
  Ford was a major art benefactor in Detroit and also financed Admiral Richard Byrd's polar explorations. He died of stomach cancer aged 49, with his father resuming the presidency of the company, before handing it over to Henry Ford II.
context_section_description: In 1929, the Ford family moved into Gaukler Point, their new home designed by Albert Kahn in 1929, on the shores of Lake St. Clair in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan. The estate's gardens were designed by landscape architect Jens Jensen with his traditional long view, giving visitors a glimpse of the residence down the long meadow before revealing the entire house at drive's end.
  He also designed the gardens for Edsel and Eleanor's summer estate Skylands in Seal Harbor on Mount Desert Island in Maine. Jensen designed work for their two other Michigan residences, one being Haven Hill, between 1922 and 1935. Haven Hill, now within the Highland Recreation Area near White Lake Township in southeastern Michigan, is designated as both a Michigan State Historical Landmark and State Natural Preserve. Jensen's landscape elements, with the diversity of tree, plant, and animal life, combine aesthetics, history, and nature.
  Edsel Ford died at Gaukler Point in 1943. His wife Eleanor continued living there until her death in 1976. It was her wish that the property be used for "the benefit of the public." The Edsel and Eleanor Ford House is now open to the public. Located on 87 acres (35.2 ha), the house has an excellent collection of the Fords' original antiques and art, and the historical landscape grounds on the lakefront. The museum currently hosts tours, classes, lectures, and special events. The property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
caption: Edsel and Eleanor Ford, 1924
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