Momina Khalique

11/18/15
Honors 1000
Dr. Martin
Sec 500.509
Where Are We Going?
In the 1890s, Detroit was a major producer for horse drawn carriages, bicycles, ships, and
railroad cars1. These vehicles had been around for a while and contributed to Detroit being a
well-established center for commerce and industry2, but the desire was to create a vehicle that
would propel itself1. Henry Ford made this desire into reality when he hand designed the Ford
Model T inside the Ford Piquette Plant in 1908. The Ford Piquette Plant, built in 1904, is where
Henry Fords most innovative ideas generated and were brought to life, with the help of his best
and brightest workers. Originally Ford started his plant with 30 workers, but as his ideas
expanded, the amount of workers also expanded, totaling in 1,161 workers by 1910. Within the
brick and timber walls of this plant, Henry Ford invented the first automobile that changed
Americas landscape forever.3

1 Martelle describing Detroits prominence before the automobile was invented in

chapter 6 The Auto Era
2 Detroit Historical Museum visit; Detroits Industrial Skyline fact discussing how
Detroit became one of the top industrial centers in the world
3 Ford Piquette Plant historical video

Henry Ford did not just want to build cars in the Ford Piquette Plant, but he wanted to create an
efficient way to assemble these cars. He also wanted these cars to get built with the consumer in
mind, and did not focus on creating luxury cars for the wealthy like other carmakers. His goal
was to create a simple, economical car that the average person could operate and afford, and that
became the Ford Model T. The first step towards building the Ford Model T was figuring out an
efficient way to assemble it, which Ford tackled by starting with an assembly of a single model
instead of multiple models. The invention of a small, but strong assembly line was created at the
Ford Piquette Plant one Sunday, as workers formed a line and added parts onto a moving chassis
placed on a cart at one end of the plant. The Ford Piquette Plant, even with its small size and
space capacity, was able to assemble 15,000 Ford Model Ts before moving into the Highland
Park Plant, due to this assembly line technique.4
All these clever ideas invented by Henry Ford and his team of workers in the Ford Piquette
Plant are in still in effect to this day. One can see how Henry Fords assembly line is taking place
watching their food at Taco Bell get made, as one worker cooks the meat, another worker places
it onto the tortilla, and the last worker wraps it up, getting ready to deliver it to the cashier5. Also,
the creation of a middle class evolved as Henry Fords goal of creating an affordable car and
providing jobs for citizens and immigrants became prominent to the public6. As previously
4 Tin Lizzie is born; In a secret room at the Piquette Avenue plant, Henry Ford and
his inner circle created the car that changed the world." Automotive News 15 June
2003: 24. Academic OneFile. Web. 16 Nov. 2015 mainly discusses the events
leading up and during the creation of the Model T and how Ford and his workers
came across their techniques in assembling it.
5 Dr. Martins seminar discussion about how people still live by Henry Fords
concepts (assembly line method)
6 In-Group collaboration upon determining what important outcomes were made
overall by The Ford Piquette Plant

stated, The Ford Piquette Plant was first started by Henry Ford and 30 of his workers, but
expanded greatly as Henry Ford prepared to make his move to the Highland Park Plant. The 30
workers starting out in the plant were very skilled and compassionate about the work they
performed, helping design and assemble cars. Eventually, the importance of having
compassionate workers faded as the Highland Park Plant was filled with many unskilled
workers, who were just looking for work that would help them survive financially in the city.
Working under dehumanizing, dangerous conditions was not a concern as long as one was
making a living5. This was an advantage to Henry Ford due to being able to efficiently increase
production. As soon as the production of the Ford Model T became more efficient in Henry
Fords new Highland Park Plant, Ford lowered the price of the Ford Model T from $850 to
$260.4 As more people gain wealth and stability due to having a job and abiding by Henry Fords
five dollar a day policy5, more cars are getting sold, causing the economy to shift positively and a
breakthrough in prices to emerge. This creation of a middle class still exists today, as does the
reliability of the economy on the middle class6. The Ford Piquette Plant has created a lifetime in
which one is taught to live as if they were working in an assembly line, living life at a constant
standpoint until one moves towards a different desire.
Shortly after Henry Ford moved to his Highland Park Plant, Studebaker purchased the Ford
Piquette plant in 1911. The plant was known as Studebaker Plant 10, and still remained as an
automobile plant as Studebaker continued to build cars in it until 1933. Due to financial troubles
caused by The Great Depression, Studebaker withdrew from owning the plant. After Studebaker,
the Ford Piquette Plant was never used to create automobiles ever again and loss touch with
Detroit. People were not interested in what the plant once was, which left it empty for years, until

the Model T Automotive Heritage Complex purchased the plant and turned it into a museum in
2000.3
One of the most significant historical landmarks3 that contributed to how society is shaped
today based on the cars we drive, the middle class we are trying to preserve, and the assembly
line concept we live by, has turned into a museum located in a neglected neighborhood, barely
acknowledged by people. The Ford Piquette Plant is a leading example that stresses where
Detroit is headed. Detroit is headed towards becoming a museum, as automobile factories that
were built in the city and created their original cars in the city, move away to different states and
countries. Instead of abandoning these factories and viewing Detroit as a neglected city,
Detroiters are leaning towards wanting to preserve them and the rich history that comes with
them, and allow people from outside the city to truly understand the significance behind Detroit.
Continuing the beautification of Detroit and showing how it once stood as a strong automobile
kingdom, provides outsiders with an understanding that Detroit is a city with a purpose, and that
it has in some way shaped their lives to be what it is today whether it is due to the cars they
drive, or the manner in which they perform their jobs. In order to understand the future, going
back to the past is indeed important, and that is being done with the Ford Piquette Plants
transformation into a museum.7

7 In Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby, Gatsby mentions how it is possible to go back to
the past

Works Cited

"Tin Lizzie is born; In a secret room at the Piquette Avenue plant, Henry Ford and his inner circle
created the car that changed the world." Automotive News 15 June 2003: 24. Academic
OneFile. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.

"FORD PIQUETTE PLANT | MODEL T'S CENTENNIAL." Detroit Free Press. Gannett Co.,
Inc., 26 Apr. 2008. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.

Americas Motor City. N.d. Exhibit. The Detroit Historical Museum, Detroit.

Ford Piquette Plant Historical Video. Dir. John Gibson. N.d. DV.

Babson, Steve. Working Detroit: The Making of a Union Town. Detroit: Wayne State UP, 1986.
Print.

Martelle, Scott. Detroit: A Biography. Chicago, IL: Chicago Review, 2012. 85. Print.

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 1925. Print.

Martin, Dr. Aaron. "Seminar Discussion regarding Henry Ford's Accomplishments." Wayne State
University, Detroit. 11 Nov. 2015. Lecture.