Edsel Ford, president of the Ford Motor Company for many years, and his wife, Eleanor Clay, completed this 87-acre estate in 1927. Architect Albert Kahn derived the design from precedents in Cotswold, England, and many of the building materials, including the staircase, paneling, and fireplaces, were brought from old English homes. Noted landscape architect Jens Jensen developed the grounds. The Fords were collectors of art and antiques, and benefactors of local and national institutions. Edsel was instrumental in the creation of the Ford Foundation in 1936. He died here on May 26, 1943. His wife, who lived here until her death on October 19, 1976, endowed the property and directed it be maintained for public use.