Richmond Hill mayor questions "Henry Ford City" title

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By Don Logana - bio | email

RICHMOND HILL, GA (WTOC) - As you drive into Richmond Hill, you can't miss the welcome sign and the four words underneath the city's name: A Henry Ford City.

For seven years, signs in Richmond Hill have welcomed people to "A Henry Ford City".

However, the times and signs may be changing.

The new mayor is talking about taking the auto pioneer's name off those signs.

"Richmond Hill has such a rich history, it pre-dates Henry Ford," mayor Harold Fowler told WTOC "I am not trying to take away anything Henry Ford did. He did great things for Richmond Hill."

Mayor Fowler is the new mayor on the block in Richmond Hill. Ford's name is on everything in the city, from shopping plaza's to Ford Avenue. His life-size likeness even has a home in city hall, but Fowler thinks 'A Henry Ford City,' which was added to the signs in 2003 under former mayor Richard Davis, should go away.

"I was thinking about it even when I was campaigning for mayor. There are some citizens concerned about the meaning of it," Fowler said.

"I think if we are going to emphasize the history of Richmond Hill, it ought to be in its entirety, not on one man of questionable ethics and integrity," Dick Kent told WTOC.

Kent lives in Richmond Hill, is Jewish, and is one of the those concerned citizens. Time Magazine chronicled the life of Henry Ford, saying, despite being an automobile industry revolutionary, he became known in history as anti-labor and anti-semetic.

Kent has been against the sign for years, even protesting against it with a sign of his own, at the Florida-Georgia border, warning motorists to avoid Richmond Hill.

"Henry Ford came here and did a lot of good for Richmond Hill. I never advocated removing him off all record and memory," Kent said. "What I am trying to say is the city does not need to call itself 'A Henry Ford City' because it associates it with the man in total, which is not attractive and not what I think the City of Richmond Hill represents."

But not everyone agrees with Kent.

"This is part of history here," Lee Lashley told WTOC. "I'm proud to live in a small city where Henry Ford lived. It should draw tourists. Anything that draws tourists is good for the community."

"I think it should stay the way it is," Mary Jean Ross said. "It is a Henry Ford city. One of the reasons we moved here is the things he did to bring the city to where it is today."

Mayor Fowler calls the move "just an idea at this point". The sign won't be changing anytime soon. "I am just trying to get ideas and suggestions. It's gotten blown out of proportion," he said. "At this time I really don't have a plan."

Fowler has met with the Richmond Hill Historical Society about his idea. The board has told him they will discuss the issue. WTOC did contacted the Henry Ford Foundation, but has not yet heard back from them.