''Benson Ford'' was a lake freighter built for hauling raw material to

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

's River Rouge manufacturing plant in

Dearborn, Michigan Dearborn is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 109,976. Dearborn is the seventh most-populated city in Michigan and is home to the largest Muslim population in the United States pe ...

. She was named for

Benson Ford Benson Ford Sr. (July 20, 1919 – July 27, 1978), originally named Edsel Ford Jr, was an American businessman in the automotive industry, a vice-president of Ford Motor Company, and national co-chairman of the National Conference of Christians ...

Sr., grandson of

Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that mi ...

History

Design and construction

''Benson Ford'' was constructed in 1924 at

Great Lakes Engineering Works The Great Lakes Engineering Works (GLEW) was a leading shipbuilding company with a shipyard in Ecorse, Michigan, that operated between 1902 and 1960. Within three years of its formation, it was building fifty percent of the tonnage of all ships ...

Ecorse, Michigan Ecorse ( ') is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 9,512 at the 2010 census. Ecorse is part of the Downriver community within Metro Detroit. The city shares a northwestern border with the city of Detroit ...

, for the Ford Motor Company, as one of two “state-of-the-art” bulk carriers that were ordered by Henry Ford to transport raw materials such as coal and iron ore, the other ship was , which was built by the

American Shipbuilding Company The American Ship Building Company was the dominant shipbuilder on the Great Lakes before the World War II, Second World War. It started as Cleveland Shipbuilding in Cleveland, Ohio in 1888 and opened the yard in Lorain, Ohio in 1898. It changed ...

Lorain, Ohio Lorain () is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Black River, about 30 miles west of Cleveland. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 65 ...

. Rather than being powered by coal fired steam propulsion engines like most ships of the day were, the two Ford ships were had 3000 horsepower Sun Doxford diesel propulsion engines and electrically powered systems. They also had luxurious passenger accommodations for Henry Ford and his guests. In order to be an efficient carrier in the ore and coal trades, ''Benson Ford'' was constructed with large box holds.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benson Ford Great Lakes freighters Merchant ships of the United States 1924 ships Ford Motor Company Ships built in Ecorse, Michigan