Join us for the second presentation of our 2023 Fall Lecture Series. Offered as a hybrid event, participants can choose when registering to take part in person at the museum or online via Zoom. This lecture’s topic is Ford Motor Company—A Great Lakes Manufacturer.

Registration Required. 

This lecture is free, but registration is required. Donations are always happily accepted.
Sign up online or call 419.214.5000 ext. 200.

ABOUT THE LECTURE: Henry Ford built his first experimental car in 1896 in a workshop behind his home in Detroit. After formation of the Ford Motor Company, the first Ford car, the original Model A, was assembled at the Mack Avenue plant in July 1903. Five years later, in 1908, the highly successful Model T was introduced and demand for this car was so great that new mass production methods were developed in order to manufacture it in sufficient quantities.

Almost everyone has heard of the Ford Motor Company and it’s Model T, yet there are so many stories and details that often get overlooked. Join historian and American Queen Voyage’s Senior Lakeorian Ian Ross to explore the history of the Ford Motor Co., a Great Lakes cornerstone industry. From the life of Henry Ford, to the ford factory workers who worked the assembly lines—together we’ll take a deeper look into the automobile that transformed the landscape of 20th Century America.

ABOUT THE PRESENTER: A lifelong resident of Northeast Ohio, Ian Ross grew up just south of Cleveland in the Lake Erie watershed. Mr. Ross is a 2011 graduate of the University of Cincinnati where he received a Master’s of Arts in History with a specialization in 20th century American history. He has done archival or original research work for the Cincinnati Public Library and Walsh University, is a volunteer at the McKinley Presidential Library in Canton, Ohio, and is also currently the Senior Lakelorian and program director for the historical lecture series onboard the American Queen Cruiselines ships Ocean Voyager and Ocean Navigator.