Ramsey County History – Summer 2007: “Minneapolis and St. Paul Stumble: Henry Ford Wins the Struggle for the High Dam “

Minneapolis and St. Paul Stumble: Henry Ford Wins the Struggle for the High Dam 
Author: Brian McMahon

There were two early Ford plants in the Twin Cities—one in Minneapolis and another on University Avenue in St. Paul. Henry Ford was a big promoter of hydroelectric power; consequently, he wanted to locate his automobile plants on navigable rivers. The building of Dam Number One on the Mississippi launched a big debate over its financing. There was a Municipal Electric Company that wanted to operate it, but St. Paul wanted to work with Ford to create an industrial area near the dam. In 1923, Ford announced plans for an assembly and manufacturing plant in St. Paul, but Minneapolis wanted to block the plan. Business leaders didn’t want a “socialistic” plan for a municipally owned facility. Ford visited the Twin Cities and then persuaded the Federal Power Commission to let him have the hydroelectric franchise. In 1924, Ford built a large dam and adjacent power plant to provide electricity to his nearby assembly plant.
PDF of McMahon article