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]