Nankin Mills
Inscription
Two gristmills have occupied this site. The first was built between 1835 and 1842; the present was constructed soon after the Civil War. In 1918 Henry Ford purchased it as part of a plan to develop village mill industries along the Rouge and other small rivers. Equipped with a turbine generator, Nankin Mills produced engravings, carburetor parts, rivets, and bearings.
Ford believed that farmers working in an atmosphere of cleanliness and tranquility would restore a proper balance between the industrialized city and rural communities. Although his experiment intrigued American and European planners, it proved unprofitable. After World War II the mills closed. The Wayne County Road Commission acquired Nankin Mills, and in 1956 it was given new life as a nature center.
Location
Sources
More markers in Wayne
David Dunbar Buick
Detroit, MI
David Dunbar Buick, for whom the Buick automobile is named, came to Detroit from Scotland with his parents in 1856 at age two.
The Landing of Cadillac
Detroit, MI
After departing Montreal June 5, 1701, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac and his convoy of twenty-five canoes sailed down this river, and on...
Henry Ford Birthplace
Dearborn, MI
At this intersection stood the home in which Henry Ford was born on July 30, 1863.
Johnson's Tavern
Wayne, MI
In 1824 George M. Johnson purchased eight acres of land from the government and erected a log tavern at this location, a day’s journey...
First Jewish Religious Services
Detroit, MI
Near this site in 1850, a small group of German-Jewish immigrants gathered at the home of Isaac and Sarah Cozens and formed the Beth El...