Ford Motor Company Brooklyn Plant

The Ford Motor Company Brooklyn Plant is a former industrial plant located at 221 Mill Street in Brooklyn, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.[1]

Ford Motor Company Brooklyn Plant
Location221 Mill St., Brooklyn, Michigan
Coordinates42°06′35″N 84°14′33″W
Arealess than one acre
Built1938 (1938)
NRHP reference No.100000532[1]
Added to NRHPJanuary 12, 2017

History

In 1832, Calvin Swain purchased the land at this location along the River Raisin. Some time after that, he established a gristmill at the site.[2] The Brooklyn mill burned down in about 1912.[3] Henry Ford purchased the property in 1921, but did not use it for some time.[2] In 1938,[4] he constructed a new building constructed on the site, and the plant opened in 1939.[5] It employed up to 130 people making workers horn buttons and starter switches.[2] During World War II, production shifted to brass spark plug bushings for B-24 bombers.[2] After the war, the line returned to making horn buttons and starter switches until 1954, when production shifted to armrests and lamp lenses.[5]

The Brooklyn site closed in 1967.[5] After it was closed, the building was owned by Industrial Automotive Products, a subsidiary of Jackson Gear.[5] The building has been recently used to house a collector's Model T collection,[5] then housed an alternative fuel research company.[4] The building was purchased by Daniel and Samantha Ross in 2014 and is being converted into an Irish themed destination called the Old Irish Mill.[6] However, funding fell through in 2018.[7]

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References
  1. "National Register of Historic Places Program: Weekly List". National Park Service. January 19, 2017. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  2. Ren Farley (August 2010). "Henry Ford's Village Industries, Brooklyn Mill". Detroit1701. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  3. Ted L. Ligibel (January 2000), "Henry Ford's Village Industries" (PDF), Impressions, Washtenaw County Historical Society
  4. Taylor DesOrmeau. "From sawmill to Old Irish Mill, here are tenants of historic Brooklyn site". MLive.
  5. Howard P. Segal (2005), "Appendix: Basic Facts About and Present Status of the Nineteen Village Industries", Recasting the machine age: Henry Ford's village industries, Univ of Massachusetts Press, pp. 161–166, ISBN 1-55849-481-2
  6. Tarryl Jackson (February 22, 2014). "Former Ford plant in Brooklyn to be transformed into authentic Irish culinary, recreation destination". MLive.
  7. Taylor DesOrmeau (January 18, 2018). "Banks turn down $10 million Old Irish Mill, developer alters approach". MLive.
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