The Hapeville Museum keeps the memory of the Ford Assembly plant alive on display

The Hapeville Museum keeps the memory of the Ford Assembly plant alive on display


Operating from 1947 to 2006, the facility was the manufacturer of some of Ford’s best-selling vehicles, including the Ford Taurus, Ford Thunderbird, Ford LTD, Mercury Sable and Mercury Marquis.

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But it was also a place where America’s evolution on race relations was reflected in the transformation of its workforce. Jobs on the factory floor were initially offered only to white workers at the beginning of the facility. But Black workers were later welcomed, first for janitor services and later on the assembly line in the 60s during integration.

“It tells the story of 20th century America through the automobile assembly plant,†Singleton said. “It is a story of civil rights, worker rights, environmental history, labor history.

The exhibit will include oral histories of former employees, documents, audio clips, employee uniforms and an 80s-era TV playing videos from the factory floor. There will be a Mercury Sable seat found from a junk yard.

“We weren’t afraid to get our hands dirty,†Singleton said. “Former employees lent us items including uniforms, hats and commemorative pins. We have the old steering wheel, seats and documents. We want to make this as immersive as we can.â€

Historian Kyle Stanton, staff archivist at Georgia State University and the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center helped put the exhibit together, he said.

The station was closed at the time Ford’s “Way Forward” Amendment. to increase overall revenue, Singleton said. Ford considered keeping the plant open if it could be expanded, but found they could not add a floor to the facility due to height restrictions from the nearby Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

It also couldn’t expand horizontally because of Interstate 75 and surrounding freeways, he said.

Porsche will open a second driver development track on April 1.

Credit: Bob Chapman

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Credit: Bob Chapman

The building was demolished after it closed and now houses the North American headquarters of Porsche.

“People don’t know the deep story of how this plant had an impact,†Singleton said. “It is great to know that the year the plant closed it was ranked as the most productive auto assembly plant in all of North America.