Ford Valve Plant facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Ford Valve Plant
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Ford Valve Plant. Note water wheel at extreme right.
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 Location in Michigan
Location in the United States
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| Location | 235 E. Main St., Northville, Michigan |
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| Area | 4 acres (1.6 ha) |
| Built | 1936 |
| Architect | Albert Kahn |
| Architectural style | Art Deco |
| NRHP reference No. | 95000866 |
| Added to NRHP | August 01, 1995 |
The Ford Valve Plant is an old factory building. It is located at 235 East Main Street in Northville, Michigan. This plant was built as part of Henry Ford's big idea to spread out his factories. He wanted to put them in smaller towns and connect them with rural communities. The plant was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. This means it is an important historical site.
What Was the Ford Valve Plant?
The Ford Valve Plant made parts for cars. Specifically, it made valves. These are small but important parts inside a car's engine. The plant was special because of where it was built and how it operated.
Henry Ford's "Village Industries" Idea
The Northville Valve Plant was the very first of Henry Ford's "Village Industries." This was a unique plan by Ford. He wanted to bring factory jobs to smaller, rural towns. He believed this would help farmers earn money, especially during winter when farm work was slow. Workers could even take time off to work on their farms.
Ford created over thirty more Village Industries factories in the 1920s and 1930s. These factories made many different things. They produced items like copper welding rods, lamp parts, and even wheels. Most of these plants were small, usually employing about 100 workers. Like the Northville plant, all of them were built next to a river. Many used the power of the river to create electricity. This was a very green way to power a factory back then.
A Look Back: History of the Plant
Henry Ford bought the land for this building in 1919. There was an old gristmill there already. A gristmill grinds grain into flour. Ford changed the mill into a place to make valves. He moved machines from his other big factories, Fordson and Highland Park.
Between 1919 and 1936, this plant made a huge number of valves. It produced over 180 million valves! Making them here cost less than half of what it would cost at the larger Highland Park plant.
In 1936, Ford replaced the old mill building. He built a new factory designed by a famous architect named Albert Kahn. The new building looked very modern for its time. It had features of Art Deco style in its brickwork and entrance. Even with the new design, it still used a water wheel for power.
The Village Industries program ended in 1947. However, the Northville factory kept making valves. The building was made bigger in 1956. By 1969, it was producing more than 150,000 valves every single day! The plant kept working until 1978. It was the longest-running of all the Village Industries factories. Later, the building was sold. Today, it has been updated and is used as office space for design companies.
