Jacksonville plant circa 1930
From time to time I will post about some of the various Branch Assembly plants and what has became of them here in Modern Times.
This entry will deal with the Jacksonville, Florida plant. I'm biased towards this one because I own a '31 Model A Ford that was built here in January 1931. You can be biased towards your favorite plant also. It's a free country(for now).
This assembly plant was built starting in 1924 and ceased production in 1932 to become a Sales & Service Center. You can read all about that in the links I will provide at the bottom.
A lesser known fact is Ford had a presence in Jax starting in 1915 when Henry Ford acquired a warehouse on Ashley St. In 1919 they moved to a location at 532 West Forsythe St. in Jax. Then they moved to the waterfront plant that is on the St. Johns river.
And the status of the surviving Ford plant today? There's talk of it becoming a cruise ship terminal but as of now it's being used for storage. You'll see a short film in link #2. That's not me or my car, my '31 is torn apart in the shop getting the beauty shop treatment. You Yankees finally sent us a dose of cooler weather to Florida, which is appreciated as it gives me more shop time without getting a heat stroke.
Here's a few links you may enjoy. (Here again copy/paste as I can't figure out to embed)
Good photos on this link
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2008-jan-inside-the-ford-motor-company-assembly-plant
Nice short video.
http://jacksonville.com/video/community/jacksonville-community-news/2010-10-15/watch-1930s-ford-assembly-plant-toured
Sources-
September 1945 Ford Times (Author's personal collection)
Web links posted above
Ford Country Vol. 1 by David L. Lewis
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