Henry and Clara Ford aboard the Henry Ford II, circa 1935
THF736287 / Henry and Clara Ford aboard the Henry Ford II, circa 1935 / detail
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Artifact Overview
Henry Ford often used the Henry Ford II, Ford Motor Company's Great Lake's ore freighter, as his personal yacht, making annual trips to his summer home in the Upper Peninsula. The freighter sometimes took a leisurely course -- into Georgian Bay or Lake Michigan -- before heading into Lake Superior to dock at Marquette, Michigan. A typical two-day trip may turn into a five-day excursion.
Artifact Details
Artifact
Photographic print
Subject Date
circa 1935
Collection Title
Location
By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center
Object ID
84.1.1660.P.O.4432
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.
Material
Paper (Fiber product)
Color
Black-and-white (Colors)
Dimensions
Height: 8 in
Width: 10 in
Keywords |
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Related Content
SetHenry Ford II and Benson Ford: Ore Carriers of the Great Lakes
- 23 Artifacts
In 1923, Henry Ford ordered two 600-foot-long lake freighters to transport raw materials — iron ore, coal, limestone, and other bulk products — to and from his massive River Rouge manufacturing complex. Ford named the motorships after his grandsons, Henry Ford II and Benson Ford. By the summer of 1924, both freighters were plying the waters of the Great Lakes, becoming workhorses for Ford Motor Company for more than fifty years.