Interior of "A" Building at Ship Plant Showing Presses for Fabrication Work on Eagle Boats, May 1918

Ford Motor Company built Eagle anti-submarine boats for the U.S. Navy during World War I. Ford assembled the boats, using mass production techniques, at a new plant near the mouth of the Rouge River. The factory consisted of three primary buildings. The "A" Building was where steel sheets were cut to size and punched in preparation for riveting.