At Fair Lane, Henry Ford applied the same thinking he used in business - control, efficiency, and independence.

Fair Lane, Henry Ford’s Dearborn estate, was built in 1915 as a fully self-sustained residence spanning 56 rooms across 31,000 square feet.

Set on 1,300 acres along the River Rouge, it featured extensive grounds and a private power plant.

That system failed only once, during flooding on the night of his death in 1947.

More interesting facts...

• Henry Ford designed his Fair Lane estate to operate independently from public utilities, including building a private hydroelectric plant and a 300-foot underground tunnel.
• The estate included extensive landscaping features, including approximately 500 birdhouses integrated throughout the grounds.
• Fair Lane was constructed in 1915 at a cost of about $2 million, (about $60 million in today's money).
• The estate’s hydroelectric system operated reliably for decades and is reported to have failed for the first time on the night of Ford’s death.
• The gardens at Fair Lane included roughly 350 different varieties of roses.
• Despite his global impact, Ford died close to his birthplace, within a couple of miles from where he was born.