The "Bottom" Village

Built in the mid-1930s in the Ways Station area later known as Richmond Hill, the Bottom was the first housing project Henry Ford developed for his employees there. Its name came from the fact that the land had been a swamp or “bottom” before Ford had it cleared and drained. The community included 75 two-and-three-bedroom homes for Ford workers, along with a recreation building and a baseball field. A similar employee residential community called Blueberry Village stood on Clyde Road just west of Ways Station. No rent was charged until 1945, when Ford, complying with Internal Revenue Service requirements, began charging $15 per month and then raised workers’ pay by $15 per month to offset the rent.

Richmond Hill, Georgia · United States