Unleashed | Drouillard Road Windsor [VIDEO]
We kicked it hard up in Windsor’s Historic Ford City! Running up & down Drouillard road was a really good experience…not only an epic workout but an opportunity to see the amazing history of our area. Take note of all the amazing murals in the video, as well, the many statues and monuments showcasing the successes of Windsor’s rich industrial ancestors and rum runners!
It was a cold night, but didn’t take long for everyone to warm up and start peeling layers. The cold air felt great when doing sprints on vacant properties. What an awesome workout, my calves and quads are sore as I type….ohhh what a feeling! ย I included below a little history lesson on “Ford City”
HISTORY LESSON
Ford City was the springboard from which ensued the most vibrant growth of a manufacturing industry which Canada had ever seen. The Ford of Canada operation soon outgrew its original building off Drouillard, and after the first new building was completed in 1910, Ford continually expanded over a huge site which eventually covered hundreds of acres.
Workers poured into the area as many additional industries making car components as well as other car makers began operations. By 1913 Ford of Canada employed 1,400 employees, the wages were $4 an hour and the work week was 48 hours. The wages far exceeded what was generally available in manufacturing at the time, and news of the opportunities soon spread.
The new community of Ford as well as neighbouring border communities experienced a prodigious flow of new immigrants from Europe, rural Essex County and other parts of Canada.
Along Drouillard Road could be found every kind of store and commercial facility. There were churches for every kind of religious persuasion – Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and United. All this, from open fields to a busy town, happened in the short space of 20 years.
By 1923 it was reported that about 85 percent of Ford residents owned their own homes, and they were able to finance the relatively large loans needed to build the infrastructure of schools, civic buildings, libraries and utility service.
VIDEO |ADRENALINE JUNKIES UNLEASHING FORD CITY
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