DEARBORN, Mich. (WXYZ) — Starting Thursday, the public will have a chance to see 9 rare documents from the National Archives on display at The Henry Ford in Dearborn — including a stone carving of the Declaration of Independence created in 1823.
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The exhibit runs from Thursday, July 9, through Sunday, July 26, 2026, and up to 20,000 visitors are expected to attend. Online reservations are sold out, but The Henry Ford encourages visitors to keep checking their website, as spots may open up.
The documents arrived in Metro Detroit aboard the Freedom Plane as part of the America 250 celebration. '
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Detroit is the second-to-last stop on the tour, which is bringing the documents to 8 cities across the country.
Patrick Madden, CEO of the National Archives Foundation, said the anniversary made this the right moment for the exhibit.
"When we have an anniversary like this, it's a perfect time to do an exhibit because people are thinking about our past," Madden said.
Madden said the documents on display are not normally accessible to the public — even in Washington.
"They're not going to see this in Washington, even if they came to Washington. This is not an exhibit that's on view. It's a special exhibit that's just been put together for the 250th. Normally, these documents are in the vaults," Madden said.
Patricia Mooradian, President and CEO of The Henry Ford, said the museum is honored to be among the selected stops.
"The fact that they were willing to travel them across the country to eight different cities, and then to pick Detroit and The Henry Ford as one of those stops, is really something that we should all be very grateful for," Mooradian said.
Mooradian said the museum has taken careful steps to ensure the documents are properly housed.
"The right climate control for the documents. The right kind of environment for everything to be in," Mooradian said.
Heather Bruegl, Curator of Political and Civil Engagement at The Henry Ford, said the documents are protected on multiple levels.
"They are temperature controlled, light controlled, all of that," Bruegl said.
Bruegl said the preservation measures go even further than the display cases themselves.
"The documents are not only sealed in the cases, but the documents themselves are sealed. So, they were sealed, and then put in the case, and then sealed again," Bruegl said.
Maureen MacDonald, a special assistant at the National Archives, traveled with the documents for several stops on the tour to ensure they were well-protected along the way. She walked through some of the highlights visitors will see.
"You'll see a lot of famous signatures on here. Sam Adams and John Adams," MacDonald said.
The exhibit takes visitors on a timeline of the founding of the country, from the Articles of Association to the tally of votes approving the Constitution.
"And the final document is The Bill of Rights," MacDonald said.
Visiting the documents is free, with no museum admission required. To check for an online reservation, CLICK HERE.
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