Lincoln Motor Company Plant
Detroit, MI
Designated an NHL: June 2, 1978
Designation withdrawn: April 4, 2005
The Lincoln Motor Company Plant was founded in 1917 by Henry M. Leland for the production of Liberty Engines, recognized as "one of America's greatest contributions to aviation during the war." Leland stands as the most successful manufacturer of Liberty engines during World War I by out producing his competition in the quantity of engines manufactured by his company, setting production records for daily and monthly output. Leland later went on to produce the first Lincoln automobiles, named after his personal hero Abraham Lincoln, in the same facilities that had produced the engines so critical to the war effort.
After a fifteen year association with the Cadillac Automobile Company, Leland left the company because of its unwillingness to transition their facilities to serve war production needs. Leland was one of several engineers consulted by the War Department while at Cadillac to study and criticize the design of the Liberty engine as an established toolmaker and machinist in the automotive industry. Upon his resignation from Cadillac, Leland purchased a factory in an industrial section of west Detroit to produce Liberty engines. Quickly realizing that the facilities were not adequate to accommodate his production needs, he undertook a building project to add the four-story Machine Shop and Factory C. Securing the first contract for the production of Liberty engines, Leland eventually produced 6,500 engines at his factory setting industry standards in mass production while maintaining a high level of quality through his insistence on accuracy and precision in production. At the culmination of World War I, the Lincoln Motor Company Plant consisted of the Administration Building and Garage, the Machine Shop, Factories C and D, a power house, a heat treatment plant, a motor testing building, and several other minor structures.