
The Twin Cities Assembly Plant was a
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...
manufacturing facility in
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...
, United States, that operated from 1925 to 2011. In 1912, Ford's first assembly and sales activities in Minnesota began in a former warehouse in
Minneapolis
Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
. By 1925, Ford had relocated its local operations to the bluffs above the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
in the
Highland Park neighborhood of Saint Paul. In 2006, Ford officials announced plans to close the factory, though it operated for three years past the 2008 closure date initially announced. At the time of its closure, it was the oldest Ford plant in continuous operation. The plant's final truck was completed on December 16, 2011. All of the facility's buildings were demolished and the site underwent extensive
environmental remediation
Environmental remediation is the cleanup of hazardous substances dealing with the removal, treatment and containment of pollution or contaminants from Natural environment, environmental media such as soil, groundwater, sediment. Remediation may be ...
in the late 2010s, paid for by Ford. Following a multi-year planning and community engagement process, the site was sold to the
Ryan Companies, who began redevelopment of the site in 2020 as
Highland Bridge, a 122-acre residential and commercial district.
History
Ford had assembly plants in both Minneapolis and St. Paul.
[McMahon, Brian. The Ford Century in Minnesota. United States: University of Minnesota Press, 2016.] They became functionally obsolete with the development of the moveable assembly line
The Ford Center, at 420 Fifth St. in Minneapolis, was the tallest automobile factory at the time of its opening in 1912. It is currently in use as an office building.
Construction

The promise of cheap
hydropower
Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, ...
was the chief reason why
Henry Ford
Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American Technological and industrial history of the United States, industrialist and business magnate. As the founder of the Ford Motor Company, he is credited as a pioneer in making automob ...
agreed to build a plant in Saint Paul. The
Ford Dam was initially completed in 1917, making it one of the oldest on the river. However, hydroelectric power required a rather large dam, which meant that the first lock and dam built on the Mississippi would have to be demolished. Some remains of the upstream
Meeker Island Lock and Dam still poke out of the water when the river is low. A major upgrade to the Ford Dam was completed in 1929, and the completion of locks by the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers followed in 1932. The dam was acquired by
Brookfield Renewable Power in April 2008.
[Twin Cities Hydroelectric Facility information page](_blank)
City of St. Paul website
The Ford name is also attached to a nearby bridge, completed in 1927. Officially known as the
Intercity Bridge, it connects 46th Street on the
Minneapolis
Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
side of the river to the Ford Parkway in Saint Paul.
Glass production
From 1926 to 1959, the plant produced glass for vehicle windows with silica mined from
sandstone
Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
on site. The resulting tunnels underneath the plant remain.
Closure

In 2004, a vehicle took an average of 20.77 hours of labor to roll through the assembly line, 3.5 hours faster than might be expected in comparison to other plants.
The plant was rumored to be among the plants that were expected to be closed when company officials revealed restructuring plans dubbed ''
The Way Forward'' on January 23, 2006. The Saint Paul plant was not included among the initial list of plant closings announced in January. However, Ford announced on April 13 that the Twin Cities plant would close in 2008, along with the
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...
Ford F-series
The Ford F-Series is a series of light-duty trucks marketed and manufactured by Ford Motor Company since model year 1948 as a range of full-sized pickup trucks — positioned between Ford's Ford Ranger (T6), Ranger and Ford Super Duty, ...
pickup plant.
Ranger production had dropped from a peak of nearly 300,000 units in 1998, to under 120,000 in 2005. First quarter 2006 sales for the Ranger were under 22,500—down another 16% from 2005. While other Ford plants were operating at an average capacity of 75% in 2004, the Twin Cities Plant beat that average with 83%, but higher than average productivity was not enough to hold off the plant's ultimate closure.
On July 24, 2008, Ford announced they would keep the Twin Cities Plant open through 2011. The plant produced its last vehicle on December 16, 2011 and has been closed.
Redevelopment
Ford announced plans to tear down most of the building on the site, beginning in the summer of 2012. Redevelopment plans will depend on the findings of pollution tests. Cleanup efforts were completed by mid-2019. Ownership is in the process of changing to a local developer whose plans include 3800 residential units, along with commercial and retail units, spanning 122 acres.
Not included in the transfer of ownership is an additional area owned by Ford abutting the Mississippi River and a set of railroad spurs owned by
Canadian Pacific
The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...
(formerly the
Milwaukee Road
The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), better known as the Milwaukee Road , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States, Midwest and Pacific Northwest, Northwest of the United States from 1847 ...
and
Soo Line Railroad), both requiring further cleanup.
Legacy
The plant's final product was the
Ford Ranger pickup truck
A pickup truck or pickup is a Truck_classification#Table_of_US_GVWR_classifications, light or medium duty truck that has an enclosed cabin (truck), cabin, and a back end made up of a cargo bed that is enclosed by three low walls with no roof (th ...
. Previously, the plant had manufactured the
Ford Model T
The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by the Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first mass-affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. Th ...
,
Model TT truck,
Ford Model A,
Sportsman convertible,
Galaxie, and
LTD.
See also
*
List of former automotive manufacturing plants
*
List of Ford factories
*
Lock and Dam No. 1
References
External links
Ford Assembly Plant Mining Tunnels (History & Exploration)
{{coord, 44, 54, 50, N, 93, 11, 45, W , region:US-MN_type:landmark , display=title
Ford factories
Mazda factories
Former motor vehicle assembly plants
Motor vehicle assembly plants in Minnesota
Buildings and structures in Saint Paul, Minnesota
Economy of Saint Paul, Minnesota
1924 establishments in Minnesota
2011 disestablishments in Minnesota