Ford Plant Produces Last Vehicle This Month

ST. PAUL  (AP) - From Model T cars to Ranger pickup trucks, the last vehicle is expected to roll off the line this month at the Ford plant in St. Paul.

Thousands of employees have built more than 6 million vehicles in St. Paul since the plant was finished in 1925. At its peak in the 1970s, the plant employed more than 2,000. Henry Ford began building the St. Paul plant along the Mississippi River in 1923 when he was attracted by cheap hydropower and silicone sand for glass making.

Sixty-nine-year-old Terry Dinderman started installing accelerator pedals on Ford Galaxies in 1965. He says the factory has been a way of life that no longer exists. For many the plant closure is just the latest in vanishing manufacturing jobs. For others, it's an opportunity to develop 122 acres of prime, riverbank real estate.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)