Nankin Mills

Long before Henry Ford arrived, early Native Americans gathered along the Rouge River for hunting and fishing. European settlers later prized the river's waterpower, and the building standing here today was built as a gristmill in the mid-1800s. As a child, Henry Ford came to Nankin Mills with his father to grind the family's grain, and his fascination with waterpower eventually led him to buy the mill to produce screws and dies for one of his Village Industries. As a Ford plant, its hydroelectric generator produced excess power that was donated to the village across Ann Arbor Trail known as Pikes Peak. Today Nankin Mills houses the Wayne County Parks offices and Interpretive Center.

Westland, Michigan · United States