  Fergusonfan Member Username: Fergusonfan Post Number: 2 Registered: 08-2006 Posted From: 69.179.120.42 |
In 1948 Harry Ferguson, Inc. built a tractor factory called Ferguson Park, on a 72 acre site located at 12601 Southfield Road. This latter became the Massey Ferguson tractor factory in 1958. We have started a club called Ferguson Enthusisit of Noth America (FENA), and would like to find out more infromation on this factory. Would anyone have any original photots, blueprints, etc.? Also, during this period of time mail was sent to the Roosevelt Park Annex Detroit 32. This is the post office where the mail for the Harry Ferguson factory was picked up. Does anyone have any original photos on this or details when it closed? Any information on these subjects would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. | ||
Aiw Member Username: Aiw Post Number: 5745 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 64.228.193.243 |
If I'm not mistaken, this is the Postal annex, this photo is from the summer of 2003.  | ||
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba Post Number: 4193 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 71.193.193.49 |
Ofcourse, Roosevelt Annex is next to the Michigan Central Station, hard by Roosevelt Park, 14th and Michigan Ave., Detroit. A few centuries ago, mail arrived by train and the trains came and went quite often there. jjaba. | ||
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba Post Number: 4194 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 71.193.193.49 |
Fan, tell us what you know about Ferguson and his buddy, Massey. AIW has told us some things about Massey of Toronto. There was a big Massey-Ferguson Works on Lake Ontario in Toronto. jjaba. | ||
Rustic Member Username: Rustic Post Number: 2734 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 71.234.183.131 |
Fergie, welcome to the forum. Are you certain about the MF factory being in Detroit 32? I believe it is actually Detroit 23 but it would make sense that the mail to a massive factory campus might be sent through the main PO annex rather than the modest Brightmoor post office. Could you dig up some dirt about the Ford/ferguson split to share with us? I've wondered about it ... it must have been ugly ... | ||
Ed_golick Member Username: Ed_golick Post Number: 376 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 69.246.55.51 |
There was an underground tunnel connecting the train station to the Roosevelt Annex. Its last incarnation was as a warehouse for the Detroit Board of Education, before a disgruntled warehouse worker torched it. | ||
Fergusonfan Member Username: Fergusonfan Post Number: 3 Registered: 08-2006 Posted From: 69.179.100.206 |
Yes the Freguson factory was at 12601 Southfield Road, Detroit, MI 48223 not 48232. Sorry about that. I believe that the factory is now building D-3 of the Gateway Industrial Center. The first tractor of the Ferguosn Factory was driven off the assembly line on 11/11/48. The plant was 240' bu 680' with a 48,000 sq ft building for engineering and research. I also believe that there was a outdoor storage area and a test field. This plant had the capicity of assembling 500 tractors a day. Yes there were Massey Harris factories in Canada and the US. The factory in Toronto was 1,904,028 sq ft. The second largest Massey Harris factory in North America was in Racine, WI at 1,258,886 sq ft. In 1953 Massey Harris and Ferguson merged to become M-H-F and tractors were still be made in the Detroit Factory. By 1958 Harry Ferguson resigned from the Chairman of the Board and the tractors were then know as Massey Ferguson. It is hard to sum up the lawsuit between Ford and Ferguson as it took around 5 years to settle. Basicly Henry Ford and Harry Ferguson had a handshake agreement in 1938 that Ford would build the tractors, starting in 1939, Ferguson would buy them and sell them. This went on reasonably well till Henry Ford II took over the company after the death of Henry I. In June 1947 Herny II told Ferguson that he would no longer make any tractors for him and he would start his own tractor company called Dearborn Motors. Dearborn motors also took over most of Ferguson dist. and dealers. And to make things worse Ford continued to build tractors with the many Ferguson patents found on the earlier tractors The original lawsuit aginst Ford was for $251,100,000 The lawsuit was settled in 1952 with Ferguson awarded $9.25 million. The litigation involved over 80,000 despositions, a million documents and cost Ferguson $3.5 million. Part of the agreement was that by the end of productions of tractors with the Ferguson system patents. Again, Is there any books or anyway of getting the original blueprints or floorplans of the Ferguson Factory. Thanks | ||
Hornwrecker Member Username: Hornwrecker Post Number: 1377 Registered: 04-2005 Posted From: 66.2.148.174 |
I'll try looking at the 1949 aerial photo. Is the factory on the west side of Southfield between Fullerton and Glendale by the C&O tracks? I looked at the 1938 Sanborn maps for that area, but nothing much there then, maybe it somewhere in the addendum sheets, which aren't indexed. | ||
Burnsie Member Username: Burnsie Post Number: 536 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 35.12.21.209 |
I found the following with a Google search. John Farnworth has written 8 books about Massey-Ferguson. Even if the books don't have the info you're looking for, the author might have it in his personal collection. But there's no contact info on his website. http://www.masseyfergusonbooks .com/ Checking with the company itself might be a good idea. It's now a subsidiary of AGCO Corp. http://www.masseyferguson.com/ agco/mf/na/home.htm Massey Ferguson North America 4205 River Green Parkway Duluth, Georgia USA 30096 Phone: (770) 813-9200 | ||
Fergusonfan Member Username: Fergusonfan Post Number: 4 Registered: 08-2006 Posted From: 69.179.100.206 |
I know John Farnworth. He is from the UK and most of his books are about Ferguson and Massey Ferguson in the UK. The Ferguson tractor, and latter MF tractor was also made in Coventry, England by the Standard Motor Company, from 1946 till several years ago. The Detroit factory was not built till 1948 so it will not be in th 39 aerial photo. I will try to find out which side of the tracks the factory was on. | ||
Hornwrecker Member Username: Hornwrecker Post Number: 1378 Registered: 04-2005 Posted From: 66.2.148.60 |
Found this aerial photo from 1958 in GIS  Looks like NW side of PM tracks, I'll check the 49 aerials this evening. | ||
Rustic Member Username: Rustic Post Number: 2735 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 71.234.183.131 |
Yeah the MF factory was on the N side of the RR tracks west of Southfield (where fullerton would be if it actually continued West of Southfield) It exteneded about 6 blocks west merging into some other piecemeal smaller industrial sites. If you think in terms of RR tracks, this is just east of the big tranfer yard at Evergreen. | ||
Hagglerock Member Username: Hagglerock Post Number: 292 Registered: 03-2005 Posted From: 12.214.243.66 |
My grandfather had a Massey-Ferguson on which I learned to drive a stick shift. Can't remember what model or year, (late 50's I think) but she is still running like a champ now on my uncle's farm in Minnesota. Very interesting thread, thanks for starting it Fergusonfan. D | ||
Hornwrecker Member Username: Hornwrecker Post Number: 1379 Registered: 04-2005 Posted From: 66.2.148.249 |
From the Detroit Edison aerial surveys at CULMA/WSU:     A closeup from the above photo showing what appears to be a crapload of tractors parked in squares.  | ||
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba Post Number: 4201 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 71.193.193.49 |
How many tractors in a crap load? Just curious. jjaba. | ||
Hornwrecker Member Username: Hornwrecker Post Number: 1381 Registered: 04-2005 Posted From: 66.2.148.249 |
A crapload is slightly less than a metric crapload, I hope that helps. You're welcome to try and count them if you want accuracy. | ||
Rustic Member Username: Rustic Post Number: 2736 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 71.234.183.131 |
those tractors look a lot like soviet MRBM's circa the cuban missle crisis, or maybe some Iraqi WMDs circa 2002 ... There is a ferguson Street about a mile NNE of this factory that runs all the way up to 8 mile. It probably predates this factory, but maybe not ... | ||
Hornwrecker Member Username: Hornwrecker Post Number: 1382 Registered: 04-2005 Posted From: 66.2.148.249 |
Ferguson St predates it, as it was in the earlier maps I looked at. I'll look at another scanned map to check it out. Looking at those dots, organized in squares, I thought I found some pre-invasion intel. Looks like a huge cantonment. | ||
Fergusonfan Member Username: Fergusonfan Post Number: 5 Registered: 08-2006 Posted From: 69.179.79.207 |
In the book A Global Corporation by E. P. Nerfeld he sates on page 20g " By 1957...at the Detroit plant some 5,000 Ferguson tractors had been stored in a field, most of them either incomplete or rejected and all deteriorated by the elements. This had resultedfrom a decision in early 1956 to clear the Detroit lines and begin production of the new MH-50 tractor". So, in this case a crap load is roughly 5,000. Thanks agin for the pics, and again is there anyway to get the blueprint or floorplan of the original 1948 factory? | ||
Bvos Member Username: Bvos Post Number: 1788 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 134.215.223.211 |
That is indeed the Ferguson plant, known to most NW Detroiters who've lived in the area for a while as the old Ford tractor plant. The plant has become the Gateway Industrial Center, currently undergoing reinvestment from a real estate conglomorate that recently bought it. It, and the surrounding idustrial park, have had some pretty tough years/decades since Ford ended tractor production there. I'm told by a business owner in the industrial park that the water mains are something like 10 feet tall to the old factory. I guess that's to help get rid of all those crap loads! There's also an electrical substation there providing a crap load of power for industrial needs of any sort. My dad is a farm boy from South Dakota turned city boy. His father, grandfather and brother were all loyal Ferguson buyers until the debacle with Henry Ford II. They switched over to Allis-Chalmers when the quality of the new Ferguson went down the toilet. Every time my family would come and visit, they'd make fun of the local municipal workers driving around the blue Ford tractors. They'd usually make a comment like "real tractors are green or red". or call the blue Ford tractors "toys". I've never seen a farmer use a Ford tractor. Apparently they don't have anywhere near as much umph needed for real agricultural use. They do think it's cool that I live near the old Ferguson plant and make sure they tell all their neighbors when I visit in SD. | ||
Rustic Member Username: Rustic Post Number: 2737 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 128.36.14.165 |
BV I also had rural relatives who when they would visit would enjoy it when I'd point out the (then operational) MF factory. (AIR you could see traincar after traincar loaded with tractors from the evergreen bridge.) They'd seem to get a bigger kick out of that than Fords World HQ, the rouge plant tour or GM in New Center. I'll bet that factory was the last new major factory built in Detroit before GM's poletown ... roughly a 35 year dry spell for the heart of industrial america in it's peak years, (I might be wrong about that tho). | ||
Hornwrecker Member Username: Hornwrecker Post Number: 1383 Registered: 04-2005 Posted From: 66.2.148.77 |
I guesstimate that each one of those squares has 100 tractors in them. Looking at the original photo, there are tractors parked along the RR tracks all the way to Southfield, and behind the employee parking. Rough guess is there are a couple of thousand tractors there. I'll check the 1958 aerial to see if they're still parked there. | ||
Downtown_dave Member Username: Downtown_dave Post Number: 91 Registered: 07-2005 Posted From: 63.77.247.130 |
As a kid, I learned to drive a tractor on a Ferguson - during summers on my uncle's dairy farm between Lake City and Houghton Lake, Mich. It was a cool steel-blue machine with a unique starter feature on the transmission shifter, and much smaller than the John Deere he also had which I wasn't allowed to drive solo. The Ferguson front wheels were wide-stance, more like a car configuration - not like those mounted close together on the Deere. The Ferg was perfect for moving hay wagons, scooping manure, and other basic chores. It was easy to operate and maintain and very dependable. This thread brought back good memories of traveling down the two-track sandy lane to fetch the cows - a real adventure for an nine-year-old kid! | ||
Fergusonfan Member Username: Fergusonfan Post Number: 6 Registered: 08-2006 Posted From: 69.179.79.207 |
Would anyone be interested in taking a photo of what is left of the original Ferguson plant from the ground? It is now listed as D-3 of the Gateway Industrial Center, The east side of the building has the lower section in the middle. | ||
Rustic Member Username: Rustic Post Number: 2738 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 71.234.183.131 |
http://connect.costar.com/conn ect/masterpage/main.aspx?sitei d=21160&checksum=32698&investm entproperty=false&propertyid=4 61330&iscostar=Costar no pics of the office building in the front. Unfortunately I'm an ~ 700 mile tractor ride from Detroit. I'm sure someone headed south on southfield can pull off onto the service drive at schoolcraft drive a few blocks toward fullerton and snap a pic of the place. I recall that there was some modernization remodelling of the main front building about 10 years ago and it looks a lot different that it did back in the olden tymes. There are a couple of forumers who grew up just across southfield from that factory back in the 50's/60s (Expat and Riverrat I think). Perhaps they will chime in ... | ||
Psip Member Username: Psip Post Number: 1115 Registered: 04-2005 Posted From: 68.60.45.70 |
Here is a pix of the interior of the plant. Maybe a MF expert can tell us more about the machine rolling off the line. perhapes a date?  |
