mill was built on this site in 1845 by Henry Holbrook. By 1860, "S. Hardenburgh" was listed as the owner, and in 1879 it became Wilcox Mills. Wilcox Mills was in continuous operation as a gristmill until Henry Ford purchased it and tore it down. Ford hired Albert Kahn to design a building for the site, and the new village industry opened in 1923. The plant employed up to 23 people making taps and other tools used in manufacturing. The Plymouth site closed in 1948. The building was turned over to the Wayne County division of Parks, who used it as a garage. The site was designated a state of Michigan historic site in 1989. As of 2005, it is an artist's studio. Waterford site The Waterford plant is located at 16580 Northville Road (at Mill Road), just south of Six-Mile Road in Northville, Michigan. The area was originally the village of Mead's Mill (named for a second mill whose ruins can be seen to the south at 16000 Hines Drive). In 1873, the village was renamed "Waterford" (not to be confused with the Waterford in nearby Oakland County). A gristmill was built at this site. In 1925, Ford bought the gristmill site and dam. A new building was designed for the site, which opened in 1925. The plant employed up to 210 people making precision gauges; the workers had been transferred from New Jersey when Ford purchased another company originally located there. The Waterford site closed in 1954. As of 2005, the building is owned by a window manufacturer. Ypsilanti site The Ypsilanti plant was housed in an Albert Kahn-designed located on the Huron River in Ypsilanti, Michigan. A hydroelectric plant was built three miles east of Ypsilanti in Rawsonville. The Ypsilanti plant opened in 1932, then merged with a larger Ford facility in 1947. After the merger, the plant employed 1500 people, making it the largest of all the village industries. The plant made all the starters and generators for the Ford Motor Company. It was eventually absorbed into a more conventional plant, and in 1969 the Rawsonville hydroelectric plant, dam, and the surrounding land was donated to the city of Ypsilanti. Newburgh site The Newburgh mill is located at 37401 Edward N. Hines Drive in Livonia, Michigan. In 1870, Nicholas Bovee dammed the river at this spot and built a cider mill. He dubbed the resulting body