Rust In Peace

We recently had occasion to go up to Rock Island to get my camera repaired. ( A shout out to Jim L. Buzard for recommending the shop to me ) and upon leaving that afternoon we came across a unique little place that deserved a stop.

Off Black Hawk road across from Trinity Health center we spied a couple of restored gravity fed as pumps out in front of a building adorned with Ford motor company logo's. We stopped to check it out but the place was unfortunately closed. The sign in the window suggested they were only open certain hours of the day or perhaps by appointment, so we confined our photo taking to the outside of the building.

And there was plenty to photograph! In addition to the two restored pumps thee was gas related memorabilia scattered throughout the property as well as several restored early Fords inside that we could see thru the windows. But what caught our eye was the display behind the building itself. An old Ford jalopy, sitting in a place of honor next to an unrestored gravity pump. There was a tombstone in front of it that read "FORD: The car that changed the world. Oct. 1, 1908-June 1, 1927. Father: Henry Ford".

Is this a museum of some sort? A man's private collection? The paper in the window with hours suggests some sort of institution open to the public, but we cannot say.  You'll have to decide for yourselves. Special thanks to Nick Bouslog for providing some of the photo's.