A Brief History of Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Car Company

Henry Ford, born July 30, 1863. He grew up on the family farm in what is today Dearborn, Michigan.
Henry's childhood was that of a typical boy living in rural nineteenth century, going to school and doing farm chores. His interest mechanical things and a dislike for farm work showed at an early age.

In 1879, Henry  Ford left home at sixteen for the nearby city of Detroit He was going to work as an apprentice machinist. He worked at this for three years and then returned to Dearborn. Then for the next few years years, he  operated and repaired steam engines, finding occasional work in a Detroit factory When time permitted, he over-hauled his father's farm implements. In 1888 he married Clara Bryant.

Henry supported himself and his wife by running a sawmill.

In 1891, Ford he went to work for the Edison Illuminating Company in Detroit as an engineer.
This showed a conscious decision on Ford's part to dedicate his life to industrial pursuits.

He was promoted to Chief Engineer in 1893. This gave him enough time and money to devote attention to his personal experiments on internal combustion engines.

These experiments led to the completion of his own self-propelled vehicle the Quadricycle in 1896.

Although Ford was not the first to build a self-propelled vehicle, he was, however, one of several automotive pioneers who helped this country become a nation of motorists.

 In 1899 Ford quit his job at Edison and with the help of some investors, he started the Detroit Auto Company.
This venture ended in failure.

Ford moved back to his father's home in 1901. He built a car on his own and with it beat Alexander Winton in automobile race. This attracted more investors and enabled him to form the Henry Ford Co.
Ford withdrew from that company and it became Cadillac in 1902.
In 1903 he formed the Ford Motor Co. The Model A was produced in a rented plant on Mack Ave.
his arrangement last for one year and in 1903 he built Piquette Ave.  plant at corner of Beaubien This building is still standing and being restored.
In the same year Ford of Canada was founded in Windsor Ontario.
By 1906 Ford had overtaken Olds, Buick and Cadillac combined to become No.1 auto maker in U.S.
In the same year Henry Ford became the company president and majority owner.
The famous model T was introduced in 1908 and as we all know the rest is HISTORY.

For a more detailed and complete history on the Ford please use the links below.