Henry's Ford's lost city: Inside Fordlandia - the utopian city built by the industrialist that ultimately failed
- In 1928, planning began to build a city deep in the Amazon rain forest known as Fordlandia
- Billionaire Henry Ford wanted to mold the city according to the values that made his company a success
- Ford paid the Brazilian government $125,000 for the right to build a city on 5,625 square miles of land
- But the city failed because it could not turn the needed profit on its most important crop - rubber
Billionaire industrialist Henry Ford’s dream of building a utopian city in the middle of the Amazon rain forest collapsed nearly a century ago.
Now, newly released images are giving the world yet another glimpse into the lost city of Fordlandia.
Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, had ventured down to Brazil in search of a cheap source of rubber that would drive down the cost of tire production.
But he had a grander vision of creating his own city-state that would be predicated on the values of capitalism – the same values that had made his company a success.
‘We are not going to South America to make money, but to help develop that wonderful and fertile land,’ Ford said at the time.
Billionaire industrialist Henry Ford’s dream of building a utopian city in the middle of the Amazon rain forest collapsed nearly a century ago. A derelict and abandoned warehouse is seen near the Tapajos tributary of the Amazon River
Ford had negotiated a deal with the Brazilian government, which agreed to sell him a 5,625-square-mile tract of land near the Tapajos River for $125,000, according to The Guardian.
‘Ford had the right to run Fordlandia as a separate state,’ historian Greg Grandin wrote in his book about Fordlandia.
By 1930, Ford took an empty stretch of forest and built there modern hospitals, schools, generators, and a sawmill.
He also built a water tower in the city, which at the time was considered a landmark structure.
Now, newly released images are giving the world yet another glimpse into the lost city of Fordlandia
Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, had ventured down to Brazil in search of a cheap source of rubber that would drive down the cost of tire production
But he had a grander vision of creating his own city-state that would be predicated on the values of capitalism – the same values that had made his company a success
‘We are not going to South America to make money, but to help develop that wonderful and fertile land,’ Ford said at the time. A building that once housed a hotel is seen in the image above
Ford had negotiated a deal with the Brazilian government, which agreed to sell him a 5,625-square-mile tract of land near the Tapajos River for $125,000
By 1930, Ford took an empty stretch of forest and built there modern hospitals, schools, generators, and a sawmill
Ford also built a water tower in the city (left), which at the time was considered a landmark structure
Ford would run the city just as he had run his company. He believed in treating his workers fairly while also instilling certain social codes of behavior, like abstinence from alcohol
After Fordlandia collapsed in the 1940s, looters pilfered the leftover buildings and made off with anything they could find
Ford also arranged for American-style entertainment, like a dance hall and a movie theater that screened Hollywood films
The image above shows crosses from the cemetery in Fordlandia. The crosses were toppled by floods, which ravaged the cemetery
Some crosses managed to survive the floods and are standing to this day. The city has somewhat recovered from its collapse
The image above shows an abandoned factory built by Ford during his time there
But Ford's ambitious plans would run into trouble. Ford lacked the necessary manpower to do the excruciatingly difficult task of clearing the forest
He also miscalculated his initial assessment that he would be able to sell Amazon wood at a profit. Instead, the wood turned out to be useless
Eventually, Fordlandia was doomed because the product that was supposed to bankroll its existence – rubber – could not be grown and produced
The trees that were planted and which were supposed to yield large quantities of rubber were instead beset by blight
The image above shows what remains of one of the hospitals built in Fordlandia. Remnants of hospital beds and a patient's chair are seen above
Although Ford paid the Brazilian government $125,000, he could have had the land for almost nothing
Fordlandia gave the Brazilian locals a taste of American life, though their standard of living was lower than that of the Americans who came to manage the city
The trees that were planted and which were supposed to yield large quantities of rubber were instead beset by blight. A famiy is seen in one of the homes built near the tributary
An old typewriter is seen in the midst of other rusted-out manufacturing equipment in an abandoned factory in Fordlandia
The abandoned homes and factories in Fordlandia have been taken over by the plants that have grown in the rain forest
Seeing as how the cost of running the city far exceeded the revenue from what was sold, it was only a matter of time before the project died
Construction on Fordlandia began in the late 1920s. By the end of the Second World War, with Ford in poor health, his grandson, Henry Ford II, sold the city back to the Brazilian government at a substantial loss
Now visitors to Fordlandia could get a glimpse of rusted-out warehouses and abandoned buildings
Ford would run the city just as he had run his company.
He paid his workers fair wages and insisted that they eat nutritious meals and abstain from alcohol.
Ford also arranged for American-style entertainment, like a dance hall and a movie theater that screened Hollywood films.
For added recreation, it even had a golf course.
But his ambitious plans would run into trouble. Ford lacked the necessary manpower to do the excruciatingly difficult task of clearing the forest.
He also miscalculated his initial assessment that he would be able to sell Amazon wood at a profit.
Instead, the wood turned out to be useless.
Eventually, Fordlandia was doomed because the product that was supposed to bankroll its existence – rubber – could not be grown and produced.
The trees that were planted and which were supposed to yield large quantities of rubber were instead beset by blight.
Seeing as how the cost of running the city far exceeded the revenue from what was sold, it was only a matter of time before the project died.
Construction on Fordlandia began in the late 1920s. By the end of the Second World War, with Ford in poor health, his grandson, Henry Ford II, sold the city back to the Brazilian government at a substantial loss.
Now visitors to Fordlandia could get a glimpse of rusted-out warehouses and abandoned buildings.
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