Ford Motor Company Brooklyn Plant - Brooklyn, MI
N 42° 06.583 W 084° 14.550
16T E 727985 N 4665638
Ford Motor Company Brooklyn Plant was built on land purchased by Henry Ford in 1938 at 221 Mill S., Brooklyn, Michigan.
Waymark Code: WM1710W
Location: Michigan, United States
Date Posted: 11/17/2022
Views: 0
From the Jackson County Historical Marker at the plant:
Brooklyn Plant a Significant Employer for Residents
In 1921, American industrialist Henry Ford purchased the property of the former Swain Mill, which had burned 9 years earlier. Ford held the site vacant until 1938, when he began construction of the Ford Motor Company Brooklyn Plant. Nearly all the men hired to construct the plant were village residents. In addition, when the plant opened in 1939, about 80 villagers were hired to work in the factory, which made components for Ford automobiles. The plant represented a major economic boon for Brooklyn, especially since the country was coming out of the Great Depression.
Ford, the founder and head of Ford Motor Co., made several visits to the site and was feted by the village at one point. In 1942, the plant shifted to wartime production making parts for B-24 bombers, and was commended by the US Air Corps for its high quality production. After the war, the plant made distributors and supplied 50% of Ford's horn buttons and starter switches for cars and trucks. In 1954, it began making small plastic components. In 1966, Ford closed the plant. Since 1967, the property, also known as the "Old Irish Mill," has had several owners. The building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
The Village Industry Model
The building that served as the Ford Motor Company Brooklyn Plant from 1939-1967 was the 15th of Ford's 19 Village Industry developments. The Moderne style plant, with its red brick exterior and large windows, typified the decentralized, water-powered factories that Ford brought to rural communities in southeastern Michigan from 1920-1944. The below map shows the locations of several Village Industry Ford plants (red star indicates the Brooklyn site).
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