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

THF99453 / Construction of Ford Motor Company Hydro Electric Station in Saline, Michigan, 1935
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Artifact Overview

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.

Artifact Details

Artifact

Photographic print

Subject Date

23 December 1935

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Object ID

P.188.15867

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.

Material

Paper (Fiber product)
Linen (Material)

Color

Black-and-white (Colors)

Dimensions

Height: 8 in
Width: 11 in

Inscriptions

Inset caption box in lower right corner front reads: FORD MOTOR COMPANY / Hydro Electric Station / SALINE, MICHIGAN. / Date 12-23-35 / Photo No. 15867
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Related Content

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

    Henry Ford: Village Industries

    • 9 Artifacts
    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.