History
August 30th, 2007
Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company, was a man of vision
Henry Ford’s vision was to build a low-priced, quality car that everyone could afford to own. This vision came to reality with his development of the model T and its mass-production manufacture. He saw that he must have standard components and parts manufactured to accurate tolerance for efficient assembly. He pioneered development of the moving assembly-line and was well on the way to success. But there was one more element, a steady and reliable supply of reasonably priced raw materials of specific quality. He felt that he must have firm control over their source, production and their shipping. In later years, this concept would become known as, “vertical integration.”
Wood was one of the raw materials of particular concern. Mr. Ford’s enterprises needed lots of wood for the rapidly expanding Model-T production.
Why was wood so important? Ford used 200-300 million bd. ft. of lumber per year. The various manufacturing and shipping enterprises required large quantities of industrial lumber. For years, car framing, flooring, and more were made of wood. Even the wheels of early autos were built with wooden spokes. Truck beds were wooden and even the driver’s-cab of some early trucks was made of wood. Then along came the classy wood-paneled passenger car.
The classic “Woodie” era lasted from about 1928 until 1951
During the early part of the 20th century, Henry Ford had come to know and love the rugged North Country. So it was only natural that he should turn to Northern Michigan and its abundant forests. In 1920, he built a plant at Kingsford in the Upper Peninsula. This was a large complex with a work force of some 8000 people at its peak in the mid 1920s. It was also a convenient location from which to tap the hardwood forests of the western Upper Peninsula.
Kingsford came to be the headquarters for northern operations, a major source for lumber and the home of the wood-paneled automobile called the “Woodie”. Auto manufacturing at Kingsford consisted of 14 assembly plants, a maintenance building, large sawmill, a wood chemical/charcoal plant, steam power plant, and a dam and hydroelectric facility.
During World War II, military gliders
were built in Kingsford, Michigan
As the demand for wood grew, Mr. Ford saw that he would have to move outward from Kingsford. He set out to purchase forest land and sawmills to meet his needs. With the lands also came mineral rights for needed iron ore, limestone, and other minerals. Baraga County became the center of Ford’s forest land holdings which eventually totaled approximately 500,000 acres extending into the surrounding counties of Marquette, Iron and Houghton.
The Ford northern operations grew to include:
- The purchase of the Hebard Lumber Company in 1923 which included the town of Pequaming, Michigan.
- The purchase of the large Culver and Sterns Sawmill in L’Anse, Michigan.
- A large sawmill in Big Bay, Michigan located north of Marquette, Michigan.
- A large sawmill in Munising, Michigan, although it was reportedly never operated.
- Then, in 1935 came a special place, Alberta, Michigan was built from scratch, cut out of the extensive hardwoods forest at a remote location 9 miles south of L’Anse. With its sawmill, homes, and schools, it was another of Ford’s “village industries.” This mill operated as a satellite to the big mill at L’Anse.
Henry Ford liked the North Country and visited often. He also learned that the forest is renewable. Under proper management, with planned and prudent cutting practices, it sustains its long term health, versatility, and productivity. With his view on the importance of permanent long-term supplies of raw materials, it was only natural that he seek advice from the U. S. Forest Service. A team of professional foresters came north to evaluate Ford’s forest lands and recommended the partial-cut “Selection System” for these hardwood lands, which was a pioneering concept in those times. Mr. Ford adopted these “selective-cutting” practices. Instead of “cut it all” or “cut the best and leave the worst,” he chose the method where natural tree growth could replenish the cutting so that new wood is available on a periodic basis.
Ford embarked on a plan of stewardship
and wise use of the forest
By the early 1950’s, wood was no longer an important component in automobile manufacturing. When Henry Ford passed away in 1947, company management changed and began closing down the Upper Peninsula operations. However, Henry Ford’s vision of assuring a long-term continuing supply of raw materials was not completely forgotten. In 1954, the Ford Motor Company Fund gave the Village of Alberta and nearly 2000 acres of their forest lands to Michigan Tech University to be used as a
Center for Research, Demonstration, and Education in Forestry
The facility is now named the MTU Ford Center. Alberta Village, the sawmill, and its surrounding forests have provided an excellent field laboratory for Michigan Tech students. The research program has dealt mostly with the study of scientific forest management and its practical application to the land. The sawmill has been useful in forest products research and as a training facility. The bulk of Ford’s forest acreage is now owned by members of the private forest industry.
Alberta Sawmill History
The Alberta sawmill was a small mill, designed for a production rate of 15,000 board feet per day. It served as a satellite to the large sawmill at L’Anse, 9 miles to the north. Lumber produced here would be trucked to L’Anse for more processing or shipment. Although sometimes called a “Model Mill”, that is not how Henry Ford saw it. A mill of this size was appropriate for one of his Village Industries.
This sawmill soon became a showplace. The attractive building in its scenic setting quickly drew visitors and tourists. Ford’s big mills (at L’Anse, Pequaming, Big Bay, and Kingsford) were high speed large-production facilities, up to ten times the size of this one. Alberta was a safer, more convenient place for visitors.
Inside, this building was a sawmill unlike any other. It had varnished walls and beams, painted floors with marked pathways and was very clean, with no sawdust or trash on the floor. Henry Ford loved machinery and this place was a favorite of his. Local people still speak with pride of the sparkling clean mill and they like to tell stories with tolerant amusement of Mr. Ford’s high standards and passion for cleanliness (and also of his kindness toward their children and his interest in their education).
Construction started in 1935, when heavy machinery was moved in to complete land clearing for the village and to build a dam on the Plumbago Creek. The resulting 20 acre reservoir provided a water supply for the mill, the log pond, and fire protection for the village. Today U.S. 41 crosses this dam.
There was no electric power to the site and the mill was steam-powered. The horizontal firebox, locomotive-type boiler generated 115 hp. The firebox sat in a half-basement, with the boiler overhead and thus accessible from the first floor. Slabwood, trimmings, edgings, and sawdust fueled the boiler. They were fed to the furnace by chutes and conveyors from the machines on the floor above.
There were at least 4 steam engines in this mill.
MAIN POWER - 70 hp Jewell # 10, on the main ground level floor. It turned at 200 rpm and powered the belt-driven lineshaft, which transferred power to the mill machinery on the 2d floor which included the 5 ft band head saw, edger, trimmer, cutoff, conveyors, etc.
CARRIAGE - A small Prescott engine ran the cable-drive controlling the sawmill carriage. It was hung overhead on the main floor underneath the carriage tracks.
ELECTRICITY - 20 hp Jewell #5, on the main floor. It turned at 250 rpm and ran the 60 cycle AC generator so the sawmill and town had electric lighting and power. This was something special for a small town carved out of north-country forests. It was the way Henry Ford did things.
PUMP - Sitting in the half-basement near the firebox, a small engine drove the pump which supplied water to the boiler. This is the only one of the original engines still remaining at the mill.
The sawmill building and adjacent pump house remain as they were in the 1930’s. Michigan Tech (MTU) operated the mill on a part time basis from the mid-1950’s until about 1980. It was very useful in a number of forest products studies and as a training center for sawmill technologists such as Saw Filer, Head Sawyer/Millwright and Lumber Grader. During this time, it was necessary to convert the sawmills power from steam to electric.
The sawmill machinery is now driven by electric motors instead of belts. Otherwise it remains as it was, except for the log carriage and the head sawyer’s control panels. Sawyers of today control their machinery with electronic “joysticks” and “pushbutton” controls. Their log carriage is automated and operates with remote-control air-hydraulic actuation of the setworks. The mill is now an exhibit and is no longer running (although it is still fully operational).
A tour of the mill is designed to be self-guided. Guides are available to answer questions and to provide insights and contribute anecdotes not found on the display panels. At the visitors center and gift shop, you can find exhibits, mementos, historical literature, postcards, gifts, and models of the famous Ford “woodies”. Here you can also ask about places to visit as well as more about the mill and town and man who built them - Henry Ford.
James Meeter, Sr.