Photograph of war workers, military personnel, and unidentified civilians standing in front of a Sherman Tank at the
Ford Assembly Plant in Richmond, California.
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the Richmond Ford assembly plant made its last civilian vehicle
in February 1942 and switched to full military fabrication. As
the only west coast plant that Ford did not sell or lease out
during the war years, the Richmond facility became known as
the “Richmond Tank Depot” because the plant specialized in
tanks and Jeeps.
The hardworking men and women of the Richmond Tank
Depot produced nearly 56,000 vehicle unites for the United
States and its allies during the war; they regularly worked sixday
work weeks in order to fulfill the needs of the war effort.
The patriotism of the Ford employees did not stop when
their shift ended. Employees regularly collected magazines and
newspapers, which got bundled and stowed away in completed
vehicles that were destined for the various theaters of war, for
the troops. While this may seem like a small gesture, it was a
critical lifeline to those fighting in the war. The Richmond
employees sent nearly forty tons of publications by 1944.
With the victory in war, the Richmond Ford plant soon
began reconverting back to civilian vehicle production; the first
civilian car following the end of the war came off of the line in
August 1945. As the nation’s prosperity grew, the demands for
new vehicles increased. At the size it was, the Richmond Ford
plant was no longer able to meet the demands of a growing
consumer market. Some reports claim that Ford wanted to
expand the Richmond plant but the city would not allow them
to. Whether this claim is true or not, Ford eventually closed the
Richmond facility in 1955 and moved production to Milpitas.
Out of a desire to keep their jobs with the Ford Motor
Company, many
employees followed
Ford and moved to
Milpitas as well.
As one of the top
employers in the city
as well as a consumer
of local material and
products, the closure
of the Ford assembly
plant was a major
blow to the city of
Richmond. “First
the shipyards closed
and then Ford closed,
it was devastating
and we have yet
to recover,” says
McCrary. “Richmond
lost huge tax bases and
jobs and the economy
has yet to recover and
be as large as it was
when the shipyards
and Ford were open.”
As part of the
beginning of the
Richmond industrial backbone, the Ford assembly plant played
a crucial role not just in transforming the city from a farm
community and into a Bay Area pillar but also in the allied
victory in WWII. Today, the old Ford plant, which sat vacant
for decades, is home to the Rosie the Riveter/WWII National
Historical Park and the Craneway Pavilion.
Photograph of Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant
at 1414 South 10th Street.