In the early 1900s Henry Ford purchased the mill in Pequaming, and for the most part, the whole town. The town is in the northwest part of the Upper Peninsula near the town of L’Anse. The sawmill and the workers living in the town produced lumber for the model T. The Ford Motor Company purchased the mill and surrounding town for 2.8 million dollars. The purchase included the double band sawmill, lath and shingle mills, 40,000 acres of timberland, the town land and buildings, the railroad, along with towing and water equipment. Ford used the town as a model for his theories on self-reliance and education. He established a vocational school in his summer home during the school year, and also opened four one-room elementary and intermediate schools in September 1935. In 1937, the company built a high school, which contained state-of-the-art home economics food and clothing labs and a library, as well as the first fluorescent lights in a Michigan school. Increased shipping costs and the fact that wood was used less in the manufacturing of Automobiles Ford shut down the mill in 1942. The shell of the powerhouse shown in the photo still remains along with the water tower with the Ford logo painted on it.
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