| 1903 |
Ford Motor Company founded |
| 1906 |
Ford Motor Company becomes America’s largest car manufacturer producing 8729 cars |
| 1908 |
Ford introduces the Model T |
| 1908 |
William C. Durant forms General Motors |
| 1910 |
Ford opens the Highland Park Plant |
| 1913 |
Ford engineers introduce a moving assembly line for auto production |
| 1915 |
Ford introduces the $5 day wage for hourly workers |
| 1915 |
Henry Ford purchases 2,000 acres of marshland along the Rouge River in Dearborn |
| 1917 |
Construction of Rouge Plant begins |
| 1918 |
First products of the Rouge are Eagle Boats for the US Navy |
| 1921 |
Fordson tractor production begins at Rouge Plant |
| 1924 |
First public tours of the Rouge Plant |
| 1925 |
Walter P. Chrysler reorganizes Maxwell Motor Corp. into Chrysler Corp. |
| 1926 |
Ford adopts 40 hour work week |
| 1927 |
Model T production ends after more than 15 million are produced |
| 1927 |
Ford loses first place in sales to Chevrolet |
| 1927 |
Model A production begins at Rouge |
| 1928 |
Tractor production discontinued at the Rouge |
| 1928 |
Ford regains first place in sales |
| 1929 |
Total Rouge employment climbs to 103,000 |
| 1932 |
First V-8 Ford car produced at Rouge |
| 1937 |
Union organizers stage massive “sit-in” strikes at General Motors’ plants in Flint |
| 1937 |
Ford Service men attack union organizers in what becomes known at The Battle of the Overpass |
| 1941 |
Ford signs contract with United Auto Workers, the last major auto company to do so |
| 1942 |
World War II halts civilian car production |
| 1943-45 |
War production at the Rouge contributes to Detroit’s reputation as “The Arsenal of Democracy” |
| 1945 |
Ford civilian truck and auto production resumes |
| 1946 |
75,000 employed at the Rouge |
| 1949 |
Ford introduces the first all new cars built at the Rouge since World War II |
| 1953 |
60,000 employed at the Rouge |
| 1953 |
The first Ford Thunderbird rolls off the line at the Rouge |
| 1965 |
Ford Mustang begins production at the Rouge |
| 1965 |
New yearly record for Rouge Plant Tours set with 239,669 visitors |
| 1971 |
All time yearly record for Rouge Plant tours set with 243,175 visitors |
| 1980 |
Rouge Plant tours end |
| 1997 |
UAW and Ford Motor Company sign Rouge Viability Agreement to revitalize the Rouge |
| 1999 |
Six workers are killed in an explosion at the Rouge Power House |
| 2004 |
New F150 truck production begins at the Rouge in a newly constructed, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility |
| 2004 |
Ford Rouge Factory Tours resume |
