Once the Model T took off, Henry Ford put some of his new wealth toward the birds on his Dearborn land.

He recruited the president of the Michigan Audubon Society to plan and run what became known as Henry Ford’s Bird Farm. At its peak, Fair Lane had about 500 ornate birdhouses and roughly as many bird baths, which were heated in winter.

Ford took the cause past his own property line, too.

He used his political influence to back the Migratory Bird Act of 1913, which likely would have been ignored in Congress without his campaigning.

University of Michigan Press later published a full book on the subject, “Best of Companions: Henry Ford and the Protection of Birdlife in America.”

Browse more from the Ford Times archive at FordHeritageVault.com.