Ford Motor Company Brooklyn Plant

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]

The Brooklyn plant is a Moderne style red brick plant with large windows.^[8]