Henry Ford: Village Industries

Map Showing Ford Motor Company Village Industries in Southeast Michigan and Ontario, Canada, 1942

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In the 1920s and 30s, Henry Ford set up small-scale factories to supply Ford with needed tools and vehicle parts. He scattered these "Village Industries" throughout southeast Michigan usually along rivers. Ford employed local residents -- ideally farmers who could maintain their farms when not working at the factory. This map shows the factories Ford had created by 1942.

Construction of Ford Motor Company Hydro Electric Station in Saline, Michigan, 1935

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In the early 1920s, Henry Ford began locating small hydroelectrically-powered plants in rural southeast Michigan. These "Village Industries" employed local people who could maintain farms while working at the factory. One plant, constructed in Saline in the mid-1930s, operated until 1947. During World War II, workers here processed soybean oil for paints and plastics and machined parts for Pratt & Whitney engines.

Women Workers at Phoenix Mill Plant during Changeover from Automobile Parts Production to Defense Work, Plymouth, Michigan, 1942

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In the 1920s and 30s, Henry Ford set up small-scale factories throughout southeast Michigan. These "Village Industries" supplied Ford with tools and vehicle parts. Employees at his Phoenix Mill factory made electrical parts and voltage regulators. Most of this factory's employees were women. This photo was taken in 1942 during a period of changeover from automotive parts production to defense work.

Ford Village Industries Nankin Mills Plant, 1932

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In the early 1920s, Henry Ford began locating small hydroelectrically-powered plants in rural southeast Michigan. These "Village Industries" employed local people who could maintain farms while working at the factory. This Westland-area plant opened in an old flour mill in 1921. Workers here produced tool and die work and performed special engraving and defense experiment work during World War II.

Ford Motor Company Valve Plant, Northville, Michigan, July 15, 1935

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In the 1920s and 30s, Henry Ford set up small-scale factories throughout southeast Michigan. These "Village Industries" employed local residents and supplied Ford with tools and vehicle parts. The factory at Northville started operations in 1920 and made engine valves. The Northville factory remained productive into the early 1980s, long after Henry's other Village Industry mills had closed.

Ford Motor Company Gauge Plant, Northville Township, Michigan, 1936

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In the 1920s and 30s, Henry Ford set up small-scale factories throughout southeast Michigan. These "Village Industries" supplied Ford with tools and vehicle parts. The factory at Waterford -- one of many scattered along the Middle Rouge River basin -- opened in 1925 and its employees made precision inspection gauge blocks. This mill remained open until the late 1950s.

Newspaper, "The Dearborn Independent, Ford Confidence Edition, Industrial Section," 1938

Newspaper

Bound Volume, "Ford News," 1931-1932

Serial (Publication)

Hayden Mills Hydroelectric Plant, Tecumseh, Michigan, 1936

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In the 1920s and 30s, Henry Ford set up small-scale factories throughout southeast Michigan. These "Village Industries" employed local residents -- ideally farmers who could maintain their farms when not working at the factory -- and supplied Ford with tools and vehicle parts. At Hayden Mills in Tecumseh, Michigan, employees cleaned, packed and stored soybeans -- a crop used by Ford to make paints and plastics.