West of Canton is this white painted brick schoolhouse. A historical marker stands nearby and reads:
In 1876 this Italianate schoolhouse replaced a log school, built in 1836 and known officially as Canton Fractional No. 1 School. In 1944 Henry Ford, who operated a small factory in Cherry Hill, paid for an addition to this building, as well as for the salary for a second teacher. The school became part of Ford’s Greenfield Village School System where students benefitted from art, music, and dance curricula. Cherry Hill School was absorbed by the Plymouth School District in 1955.
What the marker does not mention is that the small Ford factory in Cherry Hill mainly hired workers that were disabled. Many of them veterans of WWII. At one time Ford had employed 12,000 disabled workers at Cherry Hill and provided living quarters, education and career training.
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