Henry Ford started purchasing land for his Village Industries in 1918 and the first plant opened in Northville, Michigan in 1920. His plan was to decentralize operations and provide work to rural populations during the winter months while still allowing farmers to work in the fields during summer. In all, Ford opened 20 Village Industries between 1920 and 1944 with the goal of uniting industry and agriculture.
Most of the Village Industries plants were located within 50 miles of the Rouge plant in Dearborn. These were all small villages, or rural locations, and most plants were located on water with the intent of utilizing hydropower to power the operations. While the original plan was to allow workers in rural areas to work in the fields during summer and the factory during winter months, this didn’t completely work because busy factory times were often spring and fall coinciding with planting and harvest, and many workers preferred to stick to one occupation or the other. In 1928, the practice of regular summer leaves was dispensed with and by 1944 farmer leaves were no longer a practice. Ford believed employees should be involved in every aspect of production so they would understand all the processes and plants would run more economically. Workers in these plants continued this practice until Ford Motor Company signed their first contract with the UAW in 1941, which stipulated that all employees were to be assigned a classification and were not expected to do work outside that classification. Work continued in the Village Industries plants after the contract was signed, but workers were assigned specific tasks.
The Village Industries plants were fairly decentralized and Henry Ford oversaw and handled most aspects of the plants well into the 1930s. Each plant had a manager and sometimes assistants to oversee operations; the managers reported to the Rouge, but much of the decision making was done by Ford himself. The Rouge set production schedules and took care of accounting, however there were no budgets for the Village Industries plants and little structure. In 1937, Roscoe Smith was put in charge of the Village Industries as head of the new Outlaying Plants division. In 1947, Village Industries became part of the new Parts and Equipment Manufacturing Division, with Smith still General Manager until 1952, when his assistant Walter H. Simpson took over.
An important goal of Village Industries was to help the community help itself. To work in a plant one had to be a local resident for at least six months ensuring locals got work and not outsiders. In these communities Ford also refurbished old schools, or built new ones which then became part of the Edison Institute school system. He also sometimes built churches, some of the Martha-Mary chapels were in Village Industries communities. In the 1930s, community houses were also built in many of these areas and members of the community, including school children, were included in Ford’s Employee Gardens program. Ford installed new water works and improved lighting in almost every community where a Village Industries plant was set up. The overall goal however, was to help people help themselves rather than establishing model towns.
Village Industries were never as profitable or efficient as Ford had intended them, although they fulfilled their function into the 1940s. With WWII and the switch over to wartime production the role and needs of the Village Industry plants shifted. When Henry Ford II became president of Ford Motor Company in 1945 he began looking for ways to save the company and started to end operations that weren’t performing well and the Village Industries plants soon began to close down. Most of the plants closed during 1945-1947, although some remained in operation, supporting manufacturing at the Rouge into the 1950s and 1960s.
Village Industries plant timeline
1. Northville
Opened: March 1920 (new structure built September 1936)
Closed: November 1981
Output: Model T and tractor valves (during WWII valves for government vehicles
and parts for Pratt and Whitney aircraft engines)
Notes: First Village Industries plant to open and last to close
2. Nankin Mills
Opened: October 1921
Closed: 1947
Output: Machined screws and later engraving operations (during WWII tools, dies, fixtures, and badges
Notes: First Village Industries to use hydropower
3. Phoenix
Opened: November 1922
Closed: 1947
Output: Generator parts (during WWII gun director parts)
Notes: First new Village Industries structure. Started off employing women only.
4. Plymouth
Opened: March 1923
Closed: 1947
Output: Generator cutouts until 1924, then taps (during WWII taps for government vehicles and parts
for Pratt and Whitney engines)
5. Flat Rock
Opened: November 1923
Closed: between 1948-1952
Output: Head and tail lamps (during WWII bomber parts and lamps for government vehicles
6. Waterford
Opened: December 1925
Closed: 1954
Output: Johansson precision inspection gauges (during WWII gauges for other war plants) (post 1947
continued to make gauges also took on taps, twist drills, engraving from closed Village Industries
plants)
Notes: Each employee was a skilled craftsman, there were no inspectors
7. Ypsilanti
Opened: September 1932
Closed:
Output: Starters and generators (during WWII starters and generators for government vehicles, dies
for bomber plant, and parts for Pratt and Whitney engines)
Notes: Designed by Albert Kahn and was largest of the Village Industries. HQ for Outlying Plant division.
Made HQ for new Parts division 1947
8. Newburg
Opened: July 1935
Closed: 1947
Output: Twist drills (during WWII twist drills for war projects and parts for Pratt and Whitney engines)
9. Hayden Mills/Tecumseh
Opened: 1935, after Newburg
Closed: c. 1947
Output: Soybean cleaning and storage during (WII bomber parts) (post WWII generator armatures)
10. Dundee
Opened: April 1936
Closed: 1954
Output: Copper welding tips (during WWII tank and bomber parts)
11. Milan
Opened: May 1938
Closed: 1946
Output: Ignition coils at first, later added in soybean processing, after Saline opened (during WWII
ignition coils for government vehicles)
12. Saline
Opened: July 1938
Closed: c. 1947
Output: Soybean cleaning, soybean oil extraction (during WWII bearings for Pratt and Whitney)
13. Milford
Opened: November 1938
Closed: Unknown
Output: Carburetors (during WWII bomber parts and fixtures for bomber plant)
14. Sharon Mills/Sharon Hallow
Opened: February 1939
Closed: 1946
Output: Cigar lighters and light switches (during WWII light switches for government vehicles)
15. Brooklyn
Opened: July 1939
Closed: 1957
Output: Horns and starter switches (during WWII parts for Pratt and Whitney engine and bombers)
(post WWII horns, distributor switches, and distributors, also plastic operations)
16. Willow Run
Opened: early 1941
Closed: late 1943/early 1944 and plant demolished
Output: Locks and keys (during WWII bomber parts)
17. Manchester
Opened: June 1941
Closed: 1957
Output: Dashboard instruments (during WWII Army vehicle parts and tools for other war plants)
18. Clarkston
Opened: September 1942
Closed: 1946
Output: Drills and bushings for government war jobs, straps and seat covers for jeeps) (post WWII
continued to make drills and bushings for military)
19. Cherry Hill
Opened: July 1944
Closed: 1946
Output: Locks and keys
Noted: Most men on workforce were disabled vets
20. Macon
Completed: October 1944 but never actually opened
Village Industries Bibliography
Archival
Acc. 1 Fair Lane papers
box 183 Village Industries
Correspondence, general materials, and maps regarding possible sites
and plant operations, 1919-1941, and undated
Correspondence with manufacturers of reaction and impulse water
wheels, 1930-1942, and undated
box 195 Village Industries "Proposed Factory-Hydro Plant and Power House, Brooklyn,
Michigan," elevation, 1937
Acc. 62 Henry Ford Office papers
box 114 Water power; Village Industries
Acc. 284 Henry Ford Office papers
box 28 Surveys; Adrian, Nankin Mills
box 29 Surveys; Newburg, Phoenix Mills, Plymouth, Northville, Waterford
Acc. 285 Henry Ford Office papers
box 3 CH Christian Science Monitor re: “Village Industries”
(also search for individual plant names)
Acc. 23 General Personal Records
box 5 Mill sites, 1929
Acc. 951 Ford Motor Company Non-Serial Publications Collection
box 19 Ford Village Industries
Acc. 1120 Field Survey Notebooks Series
box 8 Adrian, 1923 (2 volumes)
Branch Plants (Waterford, Clarkston, Belleville), 1925-1941
Brooklyn, Michigan, 1920-1939 (4 volumes)
box 9 Clinton River, 1925
Dexter Mill, 1926-1932 (5 volumes)
Dexter, Dundee, Manchester, 1935-1939
Dundee Mill and Dam, 1935 (4 volumes)
Flat Rock, 1924-1938 (7 volumes)
box 10 Village Industries; General Plant Surveys, 1921-1936 (7 volumes)
Hamilton, Ohio, 1925
Hudson Mills, 1937-1944
Milan Properties, 1935-1939 (6 volumes)
Milford Plant and Properties, 1935-1936 (4 volumes)
box 11 Milford Plant and Properties, 1937-1939 (4 volumes)
Nankin Mills, 1936-1940
Northville, 1922-1937 (4 volumes)
Phoenix, 1920-1926 (2 volumes)
Pinckney, 1921-1928 (6 volumes)
box 12 Pickney, 1929-1937 (2 volumes)
Rockwood, 1923-1931 (4 volumes)
Saline Property including Klein's Mill, 1935
Sharon Hollow, 1924-1939
Southfield Mills Survey, 1924-1926 (2 volumes)
Waterford; Powerhouse, 1925, Dam, 1924, Denby Pond, 1924
boxes 13-15 Ypsilanti Plant, Power House and Dam, 1922-1935 (40 volumes)
Acc. 1700 Ford Motor Company Property records collection
box 1 Clarkston, MI
box 2 Clarkston, MI; Delhi, MI (Huron Farms); Flat Rock, MI
box 3 Flat Rock, MI; Hudson Mills, MI
box 4 Macon, MI; Manchester, MI
box 5 Manchester, MI; Milford, MI
box 6 Milford, MI; Saline, MI
box 7 Sharon, MI
box 8 Tecumseh, MI
box 11 Ypsilanti, MI
Acc. 288 Water Power and Real Estate Records series
box 1 Brooklyn
box 2 Clarkston, Dundee, Flat Rock
box 3 Macon, Manchester, Milan, Milford, Nankin Mills
box 4 Newburgh
box 5 Northville
box 6 Plymouth
box 8 Saline
box 9 Sharon Hollow
box 10 Tecumseh
box 11 Waterford & Clarkston
box 12 Ypsilanti
Acc. 680 Building Construction and Maintenance records subseries
box 2 Brooklyn, Dexter, Flat Rock
box 3 Nankin Mills, Northville
box 4 Phoenix, Plymouth, Waterford, Ypsilanti
Acc. 2004.1.1865 Ford Motor Company Branch Operations Records
box 1 Compilation of data pertinent to Ford's small plants
Acc. 620 Power Plant Engineering records subseries
box 2 Generator Design; Village Industries (undated)
Acc. 524 Plant Engineering Department records series
box 2 Village Industries
Acc. 447 Press Releases subseries, 1938-1941
box 8 Village Industry
Acc. 545 Press Releases records subseries, 1923-1937
box 6 Village Industries
Acc. 149 Advertising general file subseries
box 152 War history; Village Industries
box 153 War history; Village Industries
Acc. 536 Public Relations Research Library press releases subseries, 1942-1955
box 110 Village Industries
box 133 Village Industries (14 folders)
Acc. 241 Department executive records subseries, 50th anniversary, Ben Donaldson
box 8 Village Industries
Acc. 391 Wendell S. Miller records, Financial Division
box 7 Village Industries
box 23 Village Industries; Dearborn area small plants 1945-1946
Acc. 33 General subject files subseries. Auditing Department
box 100 Village Industries, 1931-1936
Acc. 1846 Ford Motor Company Payroll Statistics Records
Man-count data 1920-1947
Acc. 1866 William Cameron Records
box 6 Mancount summaries; Outlying plants, 1938-1943
Acc. 44 William John Cameron records subgroup
box 19 Village Industries, 1951
Acc. 572 Nevins and Hill research, original documents and notes series
box 21 (11.20.2) Plants; Village Industries
Acc. 940 Frank Ernest Hill papers
box 23 Plants; Village Industries
Acc. 435 Charles C. La Croix Records
box 1 Volume IV; Village Industries
box 14 Ford and the War Effort-Detailed Volumes; Village Industries, Vol. I and II
box 32 Subject File; Production – Village Industries
Acc. 38 Charles Sorensen papers
box 104 Outlying Plants post war work, 1945
Small Accessions
Acc. 865 Ford Motor Company Orientation Program Handbook, 1946 (includes
Outlying Plants)
Acc. 1742 Langham, Katherine Journal (Macon Township, Mich.; Ford
Village Industries), 1930-1942
Acc. 1233 Meyer, Paul A. papers (Ford Village Industries, Saline Buildings), 1976
Acc. 1660 Photograph vertical file
box 163 Village Industries - - Ford Motor Co.
General
Michigan
Adrian
Alberta; Employee dwellings, sawmills, schools
Big Bay; Sawmills, exteriors, interiors
Brooklyn
Clarkston
Coons Mill
Dexter
Dovers Mill
Dundee; General, construction
Flat Rock
Huron River
L’Anse
box 164 Village Industries - - Ford Motor Co.
Macon; Business establishments and stores, chapels, dwellings,
gristmill, schools
Manchester
Milan; General, construction
Milford
Munising
Nankin Mills; General, schools
Newburgh
Northville; General, construction
box 165 Village Industries - - Ford Motor Co.
Northville; construction
Pequaming; general, bungalow, sawmills, schools, street scenes
Phoenix
Plymouth
Romeo
Saline; construction, exteriors, interiors
box 166 Village Industries - - Ford Motor Co.
Sharon Mills; Exteriors, interiors, reconstruction, rivers and streams
Tecumseh
Waterford
Willow Run
Ypsilanti; Hydro Electric Plant, construction, exteriors, interiors
Acc. 833 General Photographs
box 10 Michigan branches
Alpena (17a)
Big Bay Plant (2 folders, 17b and 17c)
box 11 Big Bay Plant (2 folders, 18a and 18b)
Iron Mountain (3 folders, 18c - 19b)
Keating Spur-L’Anse (19c)
box 12 Michigamme-Munising (19d)
Peguamining (20a)
Sidnaw (20b)
Ypsilanti (20c)
box 158 Hydro plants - Saline (364b)
Hydro plants – Sharon Mills, Waterford, Willow Run (364c)
Hydro plants – Milford (3 folders, 365a - 365c)
box 159 Hydro plants – Milford (365d)
Hydro plants – Ypsilanti (4 folders, 366a - 367a)
box 160 Hydro plants – Ypsilanti (367b)
Hydro plants – Brooklyn, Clarkston, Dundee, Dexter (2 folders, 368a - 368b)
Hydro plants – Flat Rock (369a)
box 161 Hydro plants – Flat Rock (2 folders, 369b - 369c)
Hydro plants – Hayden Mills, Manchester (369d)
Hydro plants – Northville (370a)
box 162 Hydro plants – Northville (370b)
Hydro plants – Phoenix (371a)
Hydro plants – Plymouth, Rawsonville (2 folders, 371b - 371c)
box 163 Hydro plants – Milan (372a)
Hydro plants – Nankin Mills, Newburg (372b)
Hydro plants – Newburg (372c)
Acc. 721 Plant Engineering Construction Photographs series
box 2 Brooklyn, 1938-1939 (2 folders)
box 15 Dexter Mills, Michigan
box 16 Dundee, Michigan; Hydro-electric station construction, 1935-1936 (3 folders)
Flat Rock, Michigan; Construction development, 1921-1922 (2 folders)
box 17 Flat Rock, Michigan; Construction development, 1921-1922 (3 folders)
Construction of filtration plant, 1923
Construction progress, 1921-1922 (2 folders)
box 18 Flat Rock, Michigan; Construction progress, 1921-1922 (2 folders)
Construction repairs, undated
box 30 Manchester, Michigan Construction progress, 1939-1940
box 32 Milan, Michigan; Construction progress, 1938-1939
Milford, Michigan; Construction progress, 1939
Manufacturing Building construction, 1938 (3 folders)
box 33 Milford, Michigan; Construction of Huron River Hydro Station, 1939 (3 folders)
box 34 Nankin Mills, Michigan; Construction progress, 1938
Newburg, Michigan; Manufacturing buildings and hydro-electric construction
progress, 1934- 1935 (2 folders)
box 38 Northville, Michigan - construction progress, 1935-1939 (4 folders)
Acc. 188 Personal for Henry Ford photographs
(search for individual plant names)
Acc. 189 Photographs for the Company
(search for individual plant names)
Ford News
See: Industry, decentralization of
Ford Manufacturing Plant (Ypsilanti, MI)
Ford Plant (Brooklyn, MI)
Ford Plant (Clarkston, MI)
Ford Plant (Commerce, MI)
Ford Plant (Dundee, MI)
Ford Plant (Manchester, MI)
Ford Plant (Milan, MI)
Ford Plant (Nankin Mills, MI)
Ford Plant (Newburg, MI)
Ford Plant (Northville, MI)
Ford Plant (Phoenix, MI)
Ford Plant (Plymouth, MI)
Ford Plant (Sharon Hollow, MI)
Ford Plant (Waterford, MI)
Saline Mill (Saline, MI)
Rouge News
See: Hydro Plants
Oral Histories
65_187 Roscoe Smith
65_210 Charles Voorhess
65_108 E.G. Liebold
65_168 Stanley Ruddiman
65_106 A.J. Lepine
Acc. 65 Owen W. Bombard Interviews
box 69 Sorensen, Charles, E.; “Village Industries,” Final
Vertical File
Ford Motor Company – Plants – North America – Michigan
Brooklyn
Clarkston
Dexter
Dundee
Flat Rock
Hayden Mills
Milan
Nankin Mills
Northville
Romeo
Saline
Sharon Mills
Ypsilanti
Village Industries
Ford Heritage Trails
General
General Articles
1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, Undated
Maps (See also oversize box 2)
Statistics
Books and Secondary
Henry Ford and his Village Industries in Southeastern Michigan. John Tobin
338.76292 F699 T629 1985
Recasting the Machine Age: Henry Ford's Village Industries. Howard P. Segal
338.7 F699 S454 2005
Beyond the Model T: The Other Ventures of Henry Ford. Ford R. Bryan
338.96292 F699 B915b 1997
Scans of location plans for Ford Village Industries sites in Southeast Michigan along
the Rouge River. Wayne County (Mich.) Road Commission 2010
917.74 F699 2010 CD-ROM
Acc. 1117 David Lanier Lewis papers
box 1 Ford Village Industries , 1972-1976
Researchers can also search under individual plant names: Brooklyn, Cherry Hill, Clarkston, Dundee, Flat Rock, Hayden Mills/Tecumseh, Macon, Manchester, Milan, Milford, Nankin Mills, Newburg, Northville, Phoenix, Plymouth, Saline, Sharon Mills/Sharon Hallow, Waterford, Willow Run, Ypsilanti