Remembering Georgia’s first automobile plant

Cars have been manufactured in Georgia for more than 100 years. Ford Motor Company opened assembly plants across the U.S. starting in 1912 to reduce shipping costs of the finished cars.

The first plant in Georgia opened in 1915 and was the headquarters for the Southeast until 1942. Producing Model Ts, Model As and V-8s, the factory produced 22,000 cars a year during peak production.

The 150,000-square-foot plant was located at 699 Ponce de Leon Avenue. From the Atlanta BeltLine you can still see part of the factory’s original brick exterior, which is now the Ford Factory Square loft apartments.

– Jan Schroder, The Georgia 100