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SWD AHG Title BR 7.5.22

1 FIRMS SITES FS

 

Viewed in the following order, the first group of sites largely chronicle the first half of Southwest Detroit’s auto century. 

19th Century Industry - Manufacturers that laid the foundation for Southwest Detroit’s auto industry

Early Auto Boom - Introductions to some of the neighborhood’s auto pioneers

Clark St./Michigan Ave. Companies - The railroad car manufacturer American Car & Foundry, the Cadillac Clark Street plant and Clark Street Technology Park firms

Clark/Fort St. Companies - The former sites of C.H. Blomstrom Motor Co. / E-M-F / Studebaker and current operations of James Group International - Renaissance Global Logistics

Lincoln Motor Company - Henry Leland’s plant that built Liberty World War I aircraft engines that later was acquired by Ford

GM Fisher Body Fleetwood - The General Motor subsidiary that manufactured bodies for the Clark Street Cadillac Plant

GM Ternstedt - The parts manufacturer that supplied iconic hood ornaments and other parts for Cadillac and GM divisions

Ford Rouge Complex - An overview of Henry Ford’s signature achievement

Woodmere Cemetery - The gravesites of auto executive and autoworkers introduce the hardships of the Great Depression of the 1930s


This second group of sites leads to profiles of other prominent auto related businesses. 

 

Michigan Central - For many decades this site was a major point of entry for those who sought employment in Detroit's auto factories

Graham Paige - Chronicles the rise and fall of a company which started in truck bodies and built amphibious tanks durign WWII

Baker Street Trolley - A look at the impact of Baker Street line which ran through SW Detroit all the way to the gates of the Ford Rouge Factory

Historic Fort Wayne - Highlights the fort's association with Detroit's auto industry

 

The WOODMERE CEMETERY post found here introduces the Guide’s exploration of the emergence of the United Auto Workers’ union.

The set of posts that chronicle labor history in Southwest Detroit are found on the LABOR ROOTS section.

WE “AUTO” KNOW MORE for a list of the other sites we have begun to research and hope to develop in the future.

Click to view: 

Railway Cars, Bricks, and Salt: The Industrial History Of Southwest Detroit Before Auto, Professor Thomas Klug’s overview of Southwest Detroit’s 19th century industrial roots.

 

 

SWD AHG FTR June20