Ford City, Alabama: The metropolis that might have been.

After I graduated from high school, I was given the ultimatum from my daddy that I could either give college a try or stay at home on the farm and be worked to death. Reluctantly, I chose to give college a try. I had little desire for higher education and no desire whatsoever to live in a city. I ended up going to the University of North Alabama in Florence. This was only about an hour and half drive from my home (much faster now with better roads). For me, at that time, it just as well had of been a thousand. Even though I lived in the dorm, I was always looking for ways to shorten the drive trying various cutoffs, backroads, etc. when traveling to and from Florence. One of these roads cut east just before I got into Muscle Shoals would route me across Wilson Dam and into Florence. Before crossing the dam, I would drive past large cotton fields scratched into the red soil native to to the Tennessee River Valley. I noticed just past these fields and adjacent to crossroads were "abandoned" streets with curbs, gutters, and sidewalks all laid out in grids (city blocks). I honestly thought a super cell thunderstorm with a monster tornado had touched down and swept whatever town that was once here away. It was only after a couple of years of college that one of the professors told the story of Ford City and how it was to have been a modern day utopian brain child of none other than Henry Ford. The Shoals had much to offer for the auto industry. There was the Tennessee River that would provide the electricity and transport raw and finished materials. Also, for transportation was ample rail service. Another thing that appealed to Ford was the serenity of rural living. He envisioned homes with enough land to allow a family to "live" and grow a vegetable garden. After all, healthy minds and bodies would be needed for his factories. I came across this story today about Ford City and how government intervention changed things (whether for good or bad it is hard to say) and thought I would post it here.

                                                                             Henry Ford at incomplete Wilson Dam 1921:Credit The Henry Ford

Amie Beth Shaver: Muscle Shoals could have been a metropolis if not for government intervention

When they were little, our kids knew that sign. “Ford City,” it said.

When they saw it, the are-we-finally-at-the-lake questions stopped, because they knew we had arrived – after a quick stop at the nearby Foodland for groceries … that just might include turkey hot dogs and a locally famous Anna Mary's seven-layer caramel cake, that is.

For the record, the lake I'm talking about isn't Smith, Guntersville, or Martin. It's Wilson Lake, where Muscle Shoals, music's hit recording capital of the world, is on one side and Florence is on the other. Read the rest of the story by clicking here.