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Ford Motor Company. Plant Engineering Department. Ford Motor Company property records collection, 1920-1971 (bulk 1941-1947)

Title: Ford Motor Company property records collection, 1920-1971 (bulk 1941-1947)

The Ford Motor Company Property records collection consists of correspondence, real estate records and plat maps of various personal properties owned by Henry Ford and Edsel Ford as well as Ford Motor Company production and manufacturing properties. Material in the collections relates to automotive, hydroelectric, Village Industries and non-automotive properties across the United States. Of special interest is material related to Ford's World War II bomber production plant at Willow Run, Michigan.

ArchivalResource: 4.4 cubic ft.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/747431242 View

Ford, Henry, 1863-1947. Statements series, 1918-1951 (bulk 1920-1946)

Title: Statements series, 1918-1951 (bulk 1920-1946)

The Statements series is made up of three subseries. Half of the Bank Statements, Expense Lists subseries, 1918-1920 (0.4 cubic ft.) Acc. 286, consists of fairly routine monthly and weekly statements for Henry's various bank accounts, including agricultural accounts. The other half of the subseries pertains to Stanley W. Finch, a former Department of Justice agent and one of several private detectives hired by Ernest G. Liebold to investigate supposed misdeeds of prominent Jews and liberal gentiles. Finch operated out of New York City from an agency called the General Welfare League and reported to Liebold. These records consist of Finch's expense reports and a few letters discussing plans for further communication by secret code. The Monthly Bank Statements subseries, 1919-1951 (6.8 cubic ft.), Acc. 286, consists primarily of bank statements from various banks nationwide at which Henry and Clara Ford held personal accounts, investment accounts, and business accounts for Henry's non-Ford concerns, including accounts at Georgia banks for the Richmond Hill Plantation. This portion of the subseries is organized by bank name. Also included are insurance policies for many of the Fords' possessions and interests, among them coverage for Clara's jewelry and furs and Henry's musical instrument collection, accident and liability coverage of the Indianapolis Race of 1924 (with a list of drivers), fire insurance on the Wayside Inn, as well as other fire, property, and compensation and liability policies. Additionally, there are a small number of records of employee investment accounts. (More employee investment account records can be found in the Henry and Clara Ford Financial records series, Acc. 254.) Finally, there is a small section of miscellaneous receipts and notes. The Financial Statements subseries, 1919-1947 (4.4 cubic ft.), Acc. 286, perhaps the most informative portion of the series in terms of its systematic organization and presentation, is made up of formal financial statements for Henry Ford's non-Ford interests, including the Botsford Inn, also called Botsford Tavern, 1939-1946; Dearborn Inn, 1939-1946; and Wayside Inn, 1930-1945; along with hotel management company Oakwood Hotel Company, 1933-1939; Dearborn Realty and Construction Company, 1930-1943; Edison Institute, 1937-1950; and Henry Ford Hospital, 1918-1946. Although an inventory for this series exists, its description of the collection is limited to subseries, voucher number, date, and some company names. Further access to or information about some of the statements may be facilitated by card indexes linked to these materials but residing in another collection, the Henry Ford and Clara Ford Estate records, Acc. 587.

ArchivalResource: 11.6 cubic ft.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/289024391 View

Ford Motor Company. Building Construction Department. Field survey notebooks series, 1915-1948 (bulk 1924-1938)

Title: Field survey notebooks series, 1915-1948 (bulk 1924-1938)

The Field Survey Notebooks series is comprised of 5" x 7" pocket notebooks used by surveyors to record field measurements for various construction projects. The series consists of three subseries. The Non-Automotive Properties subseries 1918-1941 (6 card files), includes property surveys, land elevation measurements, sewer layouts, and street surveys for various properties owned by Henry and Edsel Ford and Ford Motor Company. Properties include the Botsford Inn, Dearborn Inn, Clinton Inn (now the Eagle Tavern at Greenfield Village), Edsel Ford's farm in Detroit, Dearborn area farms, Dearborn Country Club, Greenfield Village and Henry Ford Museum (now part of The Henry Ford), and Ford's northern Michigan properties. The subseries also contains property surveys for various housing developments, including employee housing developments in the Maloney and Oakwood subdivisions in Dearborn, Michigan. It also includes additional property surveys for roads throughout Dearborn, the Ford Airport, and the Engineering Test Track. The Other Plants subseries, 1915-1944 (8 card files), is comprised of property surveys, building analyses, settlement measurements, sewer line layouts, and benchmark measurements for Ford's Highland Park Plant as well as manufacturing, assembly, and hydroelectric power plants for village industry facilities throughout Michigan including Adrian, Brooklyn, Dexter, Dundee, Flat Rock, Hudson Mills, Milan, Milford, Nankin Mills, Northville, Phoenixville, Pinckney, Rockwood, Saline, Sharon Hollow, Southfield, Waterford, and Ypsilanti. The Rouge River Plant subseries, 1915-1948 (41 card files), consists of property surveys, building layouts, settlement measurements, sewer and electrical layouts, railroad surveys, and benchmark measurements for plants and facilities making up the Rouge River Plant. Plants and facilities include the Blast Furnace, Steel Mill, Glass Plant, Turning Basin, Boat Docks, and Boat Slip. The subseries also includes the initial surveys for additional construction projects including the Tool and Die Building, Tire Plant, and Stamping Plant. Because of the geography of the Rouge River Plant, land settlement measurements make up the bulk of this subseries. Researchers should note that notebooks may contain additional information for buildings, plants, work sites, and construction projects beyond those listed in the inventory.

ArchivalResource: 55 card files.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/85892244 View

Ablewhite, H. S. (Hayward S.), 1887-1964. Hayward S. Ablewhite collection, 1840-1928 (bulk 1922-1928).

Title: Hayward S. Ablewhite collection, 1840-1928 (bulk 1922-1928).

The collection is comprised of diverse topical material covering a range of Henry Ford related interests. It includes correspondence, newspaper clippings, brochures, and statistical data regarding early American dancing, tools and equipment, restored buildings, and Ford supported schools. Of particular substance is material on "old-fashioned music" and the teacher Henry Ford brought to Dearborn to teach dance, Benjamin B. Lovett (Lovett also served for many years as head of Ford Schools). Also of note are several folders of photographs of the Wayside Inn.

ArchivalResource: .4 cubic ft.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/51267780 View

Ford Motor Company. Auditing Department. General subject files subseries, 1913-1945 (bulk 1928-1939)

Title: General subject files subseries, 1913-1945 (bulk 1928-1939)

The General Subject files subseries consists of correspondence, memoranda, working papers, and reports detailing Ford Motor Company's financial operations and performance. The files contain a wide array of data including topics such as Lincoln automobile inventories, accounts receivable and payable audits, equipment amortization and deprecation analysis, correspondence relating to the 1933 Bank Holiday, branch and plant account reserve and reconciliation data, and overseas shipping costs. The files also include audit data and property valuation information for company owned properties including Botsford Inn, Camp Legion, Consolidated Development Company, Dearborn Country Club, Dearborn Inn, Ford Sales Company, Ford Village Industries, Fordson Coal Company, Henry Ford & Son, Seaboard Investment Company, Universal Credit Corporation, and audits of branch charitable contributions. There are also audits of outside firms doing work for Ford Motor Company, including Robert O. Derrick Inc.'s architectural work on Henry Ford Museum, Albert Kahn Inc.'s work on various plant construction projects, and renovation projects for Henry Ford and Edsel Ford. The files also contain general financial audit information covering payrolls, labor statistics, plant inventories, financial data used in legal actions, and tax payments to the city of Dearborn, Michigan and the U. S. government.

ArchivalResource: 48.4 cubic ft.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/163114100 View

Ford Motor Company. Plant Engineering Department. Plant Engineering Department (Ford Motor Company) records series, 1922-1950.

Title: Plant Engineering Department (Ford Motor Company) records series, 1922-1950.

The Plant Engineering Department (Ford Motor Company) records series consists of correspondence, floor plan drawings, work and tool analysis reports, and labor reports relating to production planning, plant layout, and plant construction prior to and during World War II. The series includes plant reconstruction; refurbishing programs; floor-space utilization analysis; equipment purchase orders; labor cost reports; and domestic plant inventories. Plants covered include most Ford Motor Company domestic plants including those located in California, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia. Overseas facilities include plants in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, and Uruguay. The series also includes legacy records relating to the design and construction of non-automotive facilities including the St. Paul, Minnesota hydroelectric power plant; Dearborn, Michigan properties including Camp Legion, George Washington Carver Laboratory, Ford Airport, Henry Ford Trade School, the Aircraft Factory Building, the Ford Rotunda, Dearborn Inn, Dearborn Country Club, Botsford Inn, Willow Run, and the Ford Village Industries as well as records related to construction projects at Edsel Ford's Gaukler Point residence, property plat maps in Dearborn and Detroit, and a 1927 design drawing for a proposed convention center in downtown Detroit.

ArchivalResource: 17.2 cubic ft.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/85892465 View

Ford, Henry, 1863-1947. Disbursing Vouchers and Remittances series, 1912-1952 (bulk 1919-1947)

Title: Disbursing Vouchers and Remittances series, 1912-1952 (bulk 1919-1947)

The Disbursing Vouchers and Remittances series, which was administered primarily by secretaries E. G. Liebold and L. J. Thompson, consists of six subseries. The National Bank of Commerce subseries, 1912-1919 (3.6 cubic ft.), Acc. 286; the Dearborn State Bank subseries, 1919-1947 (160 cubic ft.), Acc. 286; and the Miscellaneous Banks subseries, 1919-1947 (8.4 cubic ft.), Acc. 286, all consist of disbursing vouchers drawn from the banks named and various other banks. Vouchers within each subseries are arranged by voucher number (which is also generally chronological). The Dearborn State Bank became the Manufacturer's National Bank of Detroit in 1933. The three banks subseries consist of vouchers and related invoices and correspondence pertaining to Henry Ford's many activities and assets outside of Ford Motor Company. They provide a window into Henry Ford's avocations and by extension, the man himself, that though patchy and at times lacking in context is often surprisingly rich in detail. Vouchers are for a variety of expenditures relating primarily to Ford properties, including the Dearborn Country Club, Edison Institute Schools, Fair Lane Estate, Greenfield Village, Henry Ford Museum, Henry Ford Farms, Wayside Inn, and Richmond Hill Plantation, as well as the Botsford Inn, the Phoenix Mill, and the Fords' Fort Myers, Florida, residence. A brief sampling of concerns at those properties and others includes supplies and operating expenses for the Dearborn Country Club, in particular the stocking of food and beverage; insurance; salaries of personal employees; expense reports for office employees including Frank Campsall; reimbursement of Ray Dahlinger's working and living expenses; personal travel expenses for Henry Ford; purchase, maintenance, and repairs of personal vehicles; photographic art prints of the Ford factory; publishing fees for various booklets, including the antismoking pamphlet The Case Against the Little White Slaver; various publicity expenses, including sizeable newspaper advertising expenses from 1916 that coincide with Henry's anti-preparedness, antiwar campaign on the heels of his Peace Ship expedition; books, mainly reference and applied sciences; charitable contributions; season box seats at the Detroit Opera; Edison sheet music orders; hardware and tools; agricultural equipment and supplies such as feed and seeds; garden supplies; and sporting goods such as shotguns and shells. The level of description and justification for transactions varies, with most of it in the invoices accompanying the vouchers. The Payments Made to Ford Motor Company subseries, 1929-1947 (32 cubic ft.), Acc. 286, consists of vouchers and related materials such as reports, invoices, and a small amount of correspondence, arranged by voucher number (i.e. chronologically), documenting payments made by the Office of Henry Ford to Ford Motor Company in reimbursement for goods and services rendered or procured by the latter for the former. A sampling of these goods and services includes legal expenses; taxes; insurance policies; antiques purchases, including items for the "Antique Village" at Dearborn (later to become Greenfield Village), purchases of and repairs to locomotive and steam engines; architectural services, building and repairs at the Fords' residence, the Fair Lane Estate; orders for and maintenance on the Ford's personal vehicles; and interplant transfers of goods and labor (in particular to the Tecumseh Welfare Commission). Like the banks subseries, the records provide little organization, varying degrees of context, but a considerable amount of detail regarding Henry Ford's non-Ford Motor Company financial transactions, and by extension his interests and activities. The Payroll Vouchers, Georgia, subseries, 1937-1952 (5.2 cubic ft.), Acc. 286, consists primarily of payroll vouchers along with related invoices and correspondence and covers payroll activities at the Ford Farms at Ways Station, Georgia, later known as Richmond Hill Plantation in Richmond Hill, Georgia. Information in the vouchers includes name, race, hours, any applicable classification codes (although no key could be located), hourly rate, taxes, amount due, and sometimes indication of type or location of work. In addition to labor, some of the invoices deal with goods and outside services ordered for the plantation. Some of the vouchers in the preceding subseries are linked to card file indexes in another collection, Henry Ford and Clara Ford Estate records, Acc. 587. The Remittances, Henry Ford Office subseries, 1941-1946 (0.4 cubic ft.), Acc. 790, consists of one ledger containing remittance advices (i.e. documents accompanying payments listing the payee and the particular invoices being paid) for personal accounts of Henry Ford. Like the rest of the series, it covers a wide range of Henry Ford's avocational and non-Ford business activities. Materials vary widely in terms of detail and order. Although an inventory for most of this series exists, its description of the collection is limited to subseries, voucher number, and date.

ArchivalResource: 209.6 cubic ft.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/289019676 View