The Ford Motor Company produced its 20 millionth automobile — a black Town Sedan — in 1931. The car rolled off Ford’s Rouge plant assembly line on April 14, and it then embarked on a nationwide publicity tour.
Photo courtesy Henry Ford Museum
BROOKVILLE — In June 1931, the twenty-millionth Ford car was on a country-wide tour. Mr. M. Pontius, of the Brookville Auto Company, Brookville’s local Ford Dealer, arranged for a suitable ceremony to mark the visit to Brookville on June 18, 1931.
This vehicle was assembled in the presence of Henry and Edsel Ford at the Ford Motor Company’s Rouge plant in Dearborn Michigan.
Upon arrival, the car was escorted from the city limits to the Brookville Auto Co., where it and its driver were officially welcomed by the Mayor, J.W. Binkley.
Following the welcoming ceremony Mayor Binkley and A.R. Boomershine of the Brookville Star inscribed their names in the log of “The Twenty-Millionth Ford” and took a short ride in the car.
After the car completed its nation-wide tour it was preserved with other famous automobiles in Greenfield Village, Henry Ford’s reproduction of an early American village located near Dearborn, Michigan. Leaving Brookville the car was scheduled to spend the night at Hamilton, Ohio.
To put in perspective what the production of 20,000,000 automobiles meant in 1931, there were a total of 27,000,000 motor vehicles, passenger automobiles, trucks and commercial cars of all kinds and busses, that were registered in the entire United States.
To put it another way, the space it would have required to park 20,000,000 Fords and if placed bumper to bumper they would have stretched approximately 48,290 miles, or enough to twice girdle the globe at the equator.
All information and the photo for this Look at Brookville article were supplied by the Brookville Historical Society. Do you have a photo or historical information to share or add? Please contact the Brookville Historical Society at 937-833-0285 or email to [email protected].
