Ford Village Industries in Saline, Michigan, 1938

Summary

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.

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

Photographic print

Date Made

26 May 1938

Subject Date

26 May 1938

 On Exhibit

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Object ID

84.1.1660.P.188.23330

Credit

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

Material

Paper (Fiber product)

Technique

Gelatin silver process

Color

Black-and-white (Colors)

Dimensions

Height: 8.25 in

Width: 10 in

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