![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/why-henry-ford-imported-a-cotswold-cottage-to-michigan/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/130841055_img_7546.jpg&description=Media caption, Henry Ford's huge 'souvenir' from the Cotswolds Many of us enjoy taking souvenirs home from our holidays, but when you are the world's richest man the souvenirs can be much bigger. In the 1920s Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, was besotted with the Cotswolds, Gloucestershire, and decided that he wanted to own a piece of it. "He loved the region, and quietly worked with his English agent, Herbert Morton, to find a building that was for sale to acquire it," said Jim Johnson, director of Greenfield Village . The Village - and nearby Henry Ford Museum - were founded in Michigan by Ford in 1929 to collect objects that were being lost to a changing society, thanks in part to Ford's own invention, the Model T motor car. Image caption, From Chedworth to Michigan: this cottage is now visited by millions "It changed the speed of life in this country so quickly, and Henry saw things going by the wayside that he wanted to preserve," said Mr Johnson. Multi-billionaire Ford purchased whole buildings, like the Wright Brothers' shop and Thomas Edison's laboratories, alongside smaller items. Image source, The Henry Ford Museum Image caption, Rose Cottage as it was originally located in Chedworth, in the centre of the photo The cottage was originally known as the Rose Cottage, because of the way the rain changed the colour of the limestone when wet. Mr Morton bought the house for £500 and made several modifications to perfect the storybook cottage look for Mr Ford. The Times newspaper reported that the local villagers "viewed the whole proceeding with disfavour, not unmixed with indignation. "In common with most rural parishes, Chedworth suffers from a scarcity of houses, new ones are so costly to build as to put them beyond the reach of the ordinary man," the paper wrote. Image source, Henry Ford Museum Image caption, The house was packed into hundreds of crates and sacks In January 1930 the dismantling began. "It was without doubt the most expensive){kind=link}
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Henry Ford’s huge ‘souvenir’ from the Cotswolds
Many of us enjoy taking souvenirs home from our holidays, but when you are the world’s richest man the souvenirs can be much bigger.
In the 1920s Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, was besotted with the Cotswolds, Gloucestershire, and decided that he wanted to own a piece of it.
“He loved the region, and quietly worked with his English agent, Herbert Morton, to find a building that was for sale to acquire it,” said Jim Johnson, director of Greenfield Village.