In Northville, Henry Ford established his first village industry in 1920 to make valves for Model-Ts and tractors, using the Rouge River for power. He hired local workers and selected local children for special schooling. He bought the old Dubuar Manufacturing building and operated there for 16 years before replacing it with the existing building. Ford later built many other village industries along rivers throughout the region, but this one was the last to survive, operating until 1989. The Northville Valve Plant produced 200,000 valves a day for tractors and automobiles.