Ford Valve Plant

This Ford Valve Plant exemplifies the desire of Henry Ford to soften the social impact of his manufacturing innovations through the establishment of village industries. The village industries were to decentralize manufacturing and reintegrate it into rural communities. In 1919 Henry Ford purchased the site with its mill and established the first of his village industries. In 1936 he replaced the mill and built the first modern factory for his village industries. Although the village industry experiment was halted in 1947, this plant continued in operation until 1978, longer than any of the other village industry sites. The 1936 building was designed by Albert Kahn, an architect known for his innovative factories and responsible for many of Ford's factories. The building reflected current industrial technology and architectural styles. At the same time it incorporated a water wheel, reflecting Henry Ford's desire to incorporate the factory into his vision of a productive rural community.

The Ford Valve Plant in Northville is located just east of the downtown adjacent to the Rouge River. The river provided the power and easy transportation which were required for industrial development when Michigan was first settled. Its site has been in industrial use since 1825 when it was developed as a sawmill. In 1883, as Northville's lumber industry prospered, James A. Dubuar, the owner of the mill, added a woodworking shop and other facilities. When a fire destroyed these wood frame buildings in 1896, Dubuar replaced them with a three story brick structure. It was this structure that Henry Ford purchased in 1919, after Dubuar's death.

Henry Ford's role as a leader in the development of the automobile industry and for adapting the assembly line to automobile manufacturing is well recognized. Upon realizing some of the side effects of industrialization, Mr. Ford developed his plan for village industries. This plan, and its implementation, are an interesting and significance subcontext of the development of the automobile industry in southeastern Michigan.

As described by Mr. Ford in the February 1937 issue of the Ford News, he wanted to "give industry back to the countryside it had been wrested from" where it had once flourished among "country crossroads and streams...(as) little gristmills, sawmills, foundries and small manufacturing establishments." Ford sought to bring the factories to the farmers, so they could work in them when they were not in the fields. In theory, the contentment resulting from providing a workplace close to home and maintaining an existing small-town, home-town atmosphere would yield a higher quality product. Henry Ford's plan also required that the factories comprising these "village industries" be as progressive as possible.

Henry Ford's purchase of Dubuar's building in Northville in 1919 was the first implementation of his village industry movement. Ultimately, Ford's village industries included 20 sites located in the southeastern Michigan communities of Brooklyn, Cherry Hill, Clarkston, Dundee, Flat Rock, Tecumseh, Macon, Manchester, Milan, Milford, Nankin Mills, Newburg, Northville, Phoenix, Phymouth, Saline, Sharon Mills, Waterford, Willow Run and Ypsilanti. The experiment continued through 1947 when Ford's loss of control of his company guaranteed an end to the experiment.

The industry Ford introduced to the village of Northville was the manufacture of valves for Ford cars and tractors. In keeping with his philosophy, Ford reassigned all existing employees who worked elsewhere but lived in Northville to the new facility. Ford employees renovated the mill and woodworking shop, moving in valve producing machinery from Dearborn and Highland Park and moving out woodworking equipment that is displayed today at Ford's Greenfield Village Museum. Ford manufacturing operations were underway in Northville by the Spring of 1920.

Early in August, 1935, after 181 million valves had been produced, The Northville Record reported that a new plant would replace the three story brick structure because it fell short of the Ford standards of architecture. Ford commissioned Albert Kahn to design the new facility. Albert Kahn, a nationally prominent architect, was known for his innovative design of industrial facilities, many of which were designed for Ford. The Record quotes Albert Kahn as promising, "a building Northville will be proud of." The article went on to declare, "With the completion of this factory Henry Ford will have six beautifully landscaped little industries along the Rouge River."

By 1936, Kahn's factories were familiar. They allowed manufacturing to be accomplished on one level with large windows and clerestories for light, and "modern" style. For this facility, he used simple brick detailing to vaguely evoke the Art Deco which was popular at the time. It is a brick-clad, concrete and steel-framed structure measuring 100 feet x 200 feet with a picturesque, over-shot water wheel which was installed in 1937. The water wheel was a common marker of each of Ford's village industries. The wheel was operated by water piped from Yerkes Pond, a water feature in the newly landscaped lawns created by damming the Rouge River, and it drove a 30 horsepower, electric generator. The main level was devoted entirely to manufacturing. A basement level contained power plant equipment and other machinery that provided a "modern air conditioned environment."

The new plant became an integral part of Ford Motor Company's expansive manufacturing operation. It was one of the first locations to be included in Ford's in-house radio communication link between facilities, serving as a node in the plant-to-plant network between Highland Park and the Rouge plants. It expanded its valve production, which initially involved only the manufacture of exhaust valves, to include intake valves in the later years of its operation. By 1963, it was manufacturing up to 70,000 intake valves and up to 80,000 exhaust valves daily. The plant consistently employed between 300 and 350 workers until 1982, when, following an agreement with the U.A.W., some forty-two workers were employed there to manufacture fuel tanks. The end came in 1988, when Ford Motor Company announced that operations at the plant would cease, thereby closing the last of Henry Ford's village industries. Ford sold the plant to Marrick Industries in 1994. An agreement between Marrick Industries and the city of Northville creates a city park at the east end of the building where the waterwheel and its water flue create an attractive setting for waterfowl and people. The agreement formalizes a long-standing use of the site for public recreation and symbolizes the evolution of industry from an undesirable use to be segregated from the community to one that is integrated into it. It seems a poetic end to Henry Ford's dream.

In summary, the Ford Valve Plant is a significant historic feature of Northville, providing physical evidence of industry's role in the development of the community. More importantly, it is a significant reminder of Henry Ford's village industry concept. Ford's nostalgia for the past can be seen in the plant's picturesque, but minimally practical, water wheel, while his commitment to the future can be seen in the use of progressive design. The continuing commitment of the Ford Motor Company to the plant can be seen in the quality of design of its two additions dating from 1957 and 1966 which match the character of the original. It is the village industry plant that remained longest in use by the Ford Motor Company.

The Ford Valve Plant was originally located on 4 acres on Northville's Main Street at the northeast corner of Griswold Street just east of Northville historic downtown commercial area. The site is irregular in shape. It is roughly 400 deep and 280 feet wide. The site is flat and is bordered by the Rouge River to the north and east.

The building is located 102 feet from Main Street and 38 feet from Griswold Street. There is an approximately 55 foot wide parking lot along the south side of the building, and a second, irregularly-shaped parking lot and loading area at the north side of the building. The remainder of the site is covered with lawn and some trees.

The original site was approximately 8 1/2 acres in size. It was bisected from the northwest to the southeast by the Rouge River. The north and east portions of the site, including the Rouge River, have been deeded separately to the city of Northville and are currently under development as a park. The remaining four acres of the site includes the building and parking lots. (The area of the park is not included in this National Register nomination.)

The Ford Valve Plant is a one-story building with its principal facade facing south along Northville's Main Street. The footprint of the building is L-shaped with the leg of the ell pointing north from the west end of the building. The existing building comprises an original building and two additions. The additions so closely match the original that, from the outside, it looks like it was designed and constructed as a single building. The style of the building is a very simple interpretation of the Art Deco style for industrial use.

The original building, designed by Albert Kahn, has overall dimensions of 106 feet by 202 feet. It is two structural bays wide by five structural bays long; each bay measures 40 feet by 52 feet. There is a basement level, with a service door to the north where the site's natural slope allows an entry at grade, and a first-floor level. The west addition, designed by Eberle Smith Associates and built in 1957, is 150 feet long by 132 feet wide. This addition is two bays wide by three bays long, with bay size of 50 feet by 52 feet. It incorporates an enclosed loading dock to the north. This addition had no basement. In 1966, an addition designed by Campbell Engineering was added to the north of the west addition. It is 150 feet long by 78 feet deep.

The original building is clad in buff-colored brick topped with a limestone band over a simple brick border consisting of a soldier course set between accent courses of brick laid at 45 degrees to expose their corners. The corners of the building are articulated with alternating horizontal brick courses set in relief creating the appearance of broad, engaged pilasters. The materials and patterns of the original building are repeated in the west (1957) addition on each of its facades and on the west facade of the north (1966) addition. The north and east facades of the north (1966) addition are on the functional rear of the building. They are constructed of concrete block.

The entire structure is covered with a flat roof supported by a grid of steel trusses varying slightly in cell size and spacing from addition to addition. The original building incorporates a 60 foot by 160 foot roof monitor centered on its structural grid, with industrial, steel-sash windows on four sides. The windows remain in place, but have been covered or painted at all four sides.

Incorporated into this masonry and steel framework are 12 foot high industrial, steel-sash windows that run from corner pilaster to corner pilaster in the original building. Within each pilaster is a window unit of similar height. The same glazing pattern is used at the south and west elevations of both additions. The glazing patterns at the north and east walls of the 1966 addition are similar with a higher sill and individual window panes of a slightly different proportion. The glass has been painted and randomly located panes replaced with non-matching materials. Some areas of the sash have been replaced by grills and ventilation equipment.

The building's original primary entrance was located at the west end of the north elevation in the corner pilaster. The entry consists of a set of double doors sheltered by a simple metal canopy. The canopy exists in relatively poor condition and the doors have been replaced or significantly altered from their original appearance. This entry still exists but no longer serves as the primary entrance. The current primary pedestrian entry to the building is located at the east end of the south facade. It was added, probably in 1957, by removing the last bay of windows adjacent to the corner pier and installing an aluminum door with sidelights. The door is sheltered by an aluminum canopy. Above the canopy the original window opening is filled with brick which matches the original brick. Loading docks include the original building's basement entry, the west addition's loading bay at its north, and a centrally located bay on the north elevation of the north addition. The doors at the loading dock at the original building are the original wood doors, but they are in relatively poor condition. The doors at the other loading docks are not historic in character.

A water wheel is located at south end of the east elevation. The wheel is made of cast iron with no decorative detail. It is approximately 20 feet in diameter and 8 feet wide. It sets on a retaining wall of ashlar stone. Its surge tank enclosure is located on the north side of the wheel. The enclosure is clad in brick to match the remainder of the building. The enclosure is 16 foot wide, 12 foot deep and approximately 20 foot tall. The valve which controls the water flow is located on a concrete buttress on the south wall of the surge tank above the water wheel. A simple aluminum frame and glass panel enclosure protects the valve. This enclosure is not shown on the original drawings. Its detailing indicates that is was added later, possibly in 1957 with the west addition.

Offices are located at the southeast corner of the original building on the ground floor, on an added over-story, and in a mezzanine that was added under the southeast corner of the clerestory. Other offices are located on mezzanines at the northeast corner of the 1957 addition, and at the southwest corner of the 1966 addition. The walls are painted masonry, simulated-wood paneling or 1950's era office partitions. The ceilings are of dropped acoustic panels with fluorescent lights. The floors are carpeted, concrete, painted concrete, and quarry tile. None of these finishes are historic.

The rest of the building is used for manufacturing. The largest manufacturing space combines most of the original building and most of the west addition. A smaller manufacturing space exists in the north addition. It is separated from the west addition by a loading dock. The character of these spaces is typical of mid-twentieth century industrial spaces.

The interior walls of the manufacturing space in the original building and 1957 addition are of painted common brick. Those of the 1966 addition are of painted concrete block. The first floor at the original building was a structural concrete slab with end-block, wood pavers. Over the years the wood pavers have been replaced by brick pavers and areas of concrete resulting in a patchwork of materials and conditions. The floors at both additions are of concrete.

The ceiling at both manufacturing spaces is very industrial in character. It consists of the exposed underside of the steel roof deck, exposed steel structural members, and some remnants of earlier manufacturing equipment.

The basement is under the original building only. It was designed for housing equipment and still serves that purpose. It has concrete floor, walls, pillars, and ceiling. Much plumbing is exposed under the ceiling. The northwest corner of the basement was finished to provide a lunchroom, locker room, and restrooms for the employees of the plant. Its original finishes, as seen on the architect's drawings, were utilitarian. Over the years, simulated-wood paneling has been added to the walls and the ceilings have been finished with suspended acoustic panels.