This smoke stack rises into the sky next to Lake Independence near the town of Big Bay in the Upper Peninsula. It was part of the Big Bay Ford Sawmill and holds a unique place in the history of Ford Motor Company’s operations. Henry Ford, aiming for complete vertical integration and self-sufficiency in automobile manufacturing, acquired over 313,000 acres of timberland in the UP. In 1943, he purchased the existing sawmill in Big Bay, which had previously belonged to the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company and was once famous for producing most of the country’s bowling pins. Ford refurbished and reopened the factory to manufacture wood panels for his popular “Woody Wagons.” However, Ford’s involvement in Big Bay went far beyond just the mill; in 1943, he purchased not only the sawmill and power plant but nearly every other building in the town, effectively turning Big Bay into a Ford company town.
Big Bay became a personal retreat for Henry and Clara Ford, as well as a popular vacation spot for company executives. Ford personally oversaw changes to the town’s layout, even having certain houses and the local Catholic church relocated to improve his view of the sawmill from the remodeled company store (which he converted into the Big Bay Hotel, now the Thunder Bay Inn). Ford’s vision for Big Bay, however, was short-lived. The lumbering venture proved unprofitable, and the Ford Motor Company abandoned the operations and sold its assets shortly after Henry Ford’s death in 1947, closing the mill around 1951. Despite its brief run as a Ford company town, the legacy of the Big Bay Ford Sawmill and the town’s connection to the industrialist remain a significant part of the community’s history.
I tried to dive to the sawmill but the road leading to it was private. You can see the smoke stack from Perkins Park and Campground just outside of Big Bay.
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