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Ford has made history here for 90-plus years

Minnesota Historical Society

Ford made its first car in St. Paul in 1925.

Last update: May 5, 2008 - 12:34 AM

The long history of Ford Motor Company assembly facilities and the Twin Cities is supposed to come to an end next year. But 83 years ago, on May 4, 1925, the first Model T rolled off the new assembly line in St. Paul.

Ford had opened its first plant in Minneapolis in 1913, on the same site where the new Minnesota Twins stadium is now under construction. Work began on the St. Paul assembly facility in 1923.

The site along the river, on what is now Ford Parkway, had many advantages over the Minneapolis location. There was a large area for the plant to expand, and the dam built in 1917 by the U.S. Corps of Engineers provided hydroelectric power directly to the facility.

Ford was able to do extensive mining for silica in the sandstone under and around the plant, which provided the raw materials for on-site auto glass production in the 1920s and 1930s. The system of tunnels still exists in the area, but was sealed in the 1980s.

The opening of the $10 million plant was hailed as "the beginning of a new industrial era in the northwest," by St. Paul Mayor Arthur E. Nelson.

The Minneapolis Morning Tribune reported, "The first car slipped off the assemblying line of the new plant promptly at 8 a.m. In the first car were Mayor [George E.] Leach of Minneapolis, and Mayor Nelson of St. Paul. Arthur W. Bendick, superintendent of manufacturing, and V.E. Nystrom, superintendent of assembly, were in the front seat. Mr. Nystrom did the driving."

BRIAN LEEHAN

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Ford has made history here for 90-plus years

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