SHIP SS WILLIAM CLAY FORD curated by Thomas Manse founder Know Your Ships! 2

Description: FORD MOTOR COMPANY (Henry Ford) Great Lakes Maritime History! Antique or Vintage Postcard item: RPPC Real Photo postcard, Color Chrome, or Printed Photo image collectible postcard. If a Photo and not an RPPC card, it is something that would be of interest to Postcard Collectors and History Buffs of all types. See the complete description below. ...SHIP SS WILLIAM CLAY FORD Detroit River View DOWNBOUND TO THE ROUGE ...From the personal collection of and curated by Thomas Manse founder of Know Your Ships...part of the Great Lakes Marine Department within HENRY FORDS Ford Motor Company. 1... Beginning in 1915, Henry Ford, began developing the Rouge property in Dearborn, for a new Ford Motor Company plant on the east side of the Rouge River. The plan was to utilize the river to transport raw materials from coal mines and lumber mills to the factories. By 1923, the “river navigation project” was complete. The Rouge had become such a large facility, however, that one ship could not handle transporting the huge quantities of raw materials needed for production. Mr. Ford began acquiring his own fleet of ships for the company by ordering two ore carriers to be built. These ships, the Henry Ford II and Benson Ford– named after Mr. Ford’s grandsons – and would remain in service for over 50 years... The freighters Benson Ford and Henry Ford II were the two most modernized ships on the water at the time. Ships of the day were mainly powered by coal fired steam propulsion engines, however, the Ford ships were each equipped with a British designed 3,000 horsepower diesel engine. Operations for the fleet were growing so rapidly that by 1925 it was necessary to establish a Marine Department within Ford Motor Company. Under the direction from Mr. Ford, the department began building out the fleet, adding the East Indian later that year. By the 1930s, Ford Motor Company expanded overseas into Europe, Asia, and South America with export plants established on the east coast. During this time, Mr. Ford purchased 200 surplus World War I merchant vessels from the United States government. Of these ships, twenty-two were converted to barges, ocean-going ships and canal carriers; the rest were scrapped for the Rouge’s steel furnaces. By 1950, the Ford Fleet only delivered a fraction of the cargoes received at the Rouge Factory. In 1953, the “new Ford Fleet” was launched, which consisted of eight new additions to the fleet, including the William Clay Ford, freighter By 1975, the entire fleet was capable of hauling regular cargoes of raw materials and excess vessel capacity was available. Ford began chartering the fleet to carry cargoes for other companies through the latter half of the twentieth century. By the early 1990s, most of the original fleet was decommissioned through scrapping projects or rechristened to other companies or private buyers. The pilot house of the William Clay Ford was rehoused as part of the Dossin Great Lakes Museum on Belle Isle State Park while the pilot house of the Benson Ford was purchased by a private owner and is now a private residence on Put-In-Bay island. And the rest...Is GREAT LAKES MARITIME HISTORY! Topical: Great Lakes Ship, Schooner, Scow, Yacht, Launch, Boat, Freighter, Excursion Ferry, Railroad Ferry, State Car Ferry, Water Taxi, Sail Boat, Steamship, Steamer, Commercial Fishing Tug, USCG Ship and other maritime craft! Please Note: We provide high-resolution scans and cropped views for your review. Don't hesitate to get in touch with us with any questions. We do not knowingly sell reproductions, so you can be assured these are historically significant, antique, or vintage items! Shipping Discount for multiple card "Winners"! Order tracking...We post "Buyer Feedback" at the time of shipping! Shipped very well package, USPS 1st Class postage, or Priority Mail with tracking! Quantity shipping discount refunds sent along with all shipment (dollar bills) where they apply! Check out our UpNorth Memories Store to see more great collectible items! Link: https://www.ebay.com/str/upnorthmemoriescollection UpNorth Memories Postcards, Historic Photographs and Paper Collectibles! Don Harrison...The UpNorth Memories Guy! Traverse City, Michigan. #upnorthmemories Mobile Format Modified: updated 8-13-2022 #upnorthmemoriescollection GREAT Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Canadian Maritime History Card! Powered by SixBit's eCommerce Solution

Price: 16.99 USD

Location: Lake Ann, Michigan

End Time: 2024-12-30T00:37:16.000Z

Shipping Cost: 2 USD