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Richmond Hill
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In the early 1920s, Henry Ford, famed industrialist and auto magnate, and his wife, Clara, began looking for a place to build a new winter home. The Fords felt crowded by the rapidly growing population in and around Fort Myers, Florida, where his winter home was located at the time. His friend, famed naturalist John Burroughs, recommended the coastal area of southeast Georgia called Ways Station. Ford purchased massive amounts of land in the area, eventually accumulating 85,000 acres covering 120 square miles.
In 1936, Ford broke ground for a beautiful, approximately 7,000-sq-ft Greek revival style mansion on the banks of the Ogeechee River on the former site of Richmond Plantation. The grand house, made of Savannah-gray brick, had sat on 55 acres of manicured lawns and flowering gardens. The Fords named their home Richmond Hill, adding “Hill” to the original antebellum plantation name.
Richmond Hill was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. Today, the home is owned by a private community, The Ford Field and River Club, and is not open to the public except for special events and tours through RHHS.
Visit other Henry Ford-era sites along our history-driving trail, the Coastal Bryan Heritage Trail.
Ford was interested in the social and agricultural improvement of the area around Ways Station, then one of the most impoverished places in coastal Georgia. Ford began agricultural operations, provided housing and medical facilities, and built churches, a community center, and schools for all children. He developed a sawmill, vocational trade school, improved roads, and other infrastructure, and generally brought Ways Station into the 20th century. In 1941, the federal government condemned 105,000 acres of sparsely settled land in the center of Bryan County for the Camp Stewart U. S. Army training base. The coming of Camp Stewart necessitated the relocation of all civilian residents of the middle section of Bryan, including the small communities of Letford, Roding, and the county seat at Clyde. Many of these displaced residents built new homes in Richmond Hill. The name of the town is changed from Ways Station to Richmond Hill in honor of the Fords.
Henry Ford died in 1947, followed in 1951 by the sale of the home at Richmond Hill, along with his other holdings on Bryan Neck, to the Union Camp Paper Company. The Ford operations at Richmond Hill were officially suspended on June 30, 1952.
Click here to read oral histories from Ford employees in Richmond Hill, taken in 1951.
In 1936, Ford broke ground for a beautiful, approximately 7,000-sq-ft Greek revival style mansion on the banks of the Ogeechee River on the former site of Richmond Plantation. The grand house, made of Savannah-gray brick, had sat on 55 acres of manicured lawns and flowering gardens. The Fords named their home Richmond Hill, adding “Hill” to the original antebellum plantation name.
Richmond Hill was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. Today, the home is owned by a private community, The Ford Field and River Club, and is not open to the public except for special events and tours through RHHS.
Visit other Henry Ford-era sites along our history-driving trail, the Coastal Bryan Heritage Trail.
Ford was interested in the social and agricultural improvement of the area around Ways Station, then one of the most impoverished places in coastal Georgia. Ford began agricultural operations, provided housing and medical facilities, and built churches, a community center, and schools for all children. He developed a sawmill, vocational trade school, improved roads, and other infrastructure, and generally brought Ways Station into the 20th century. In 1941, the federal government condemned 105,000 acres of sparsely settled land in the center of Bryan County for the Camp Stewart U. S. Army training base. The coming of Camp Stewart necessitated the relocation of all civilian residents of the middle section of Bryan, including the small communities of Letford, Roding, and the county seat at Clyde. Many of these displaced residents built new homes in Richmond Hill. The name of the town is changed from Ways Station to Richmond Hill in honor of the Fords.
Henry Ford died in 1947, followed in 1951 by the sale of the home at Richmond Hill, along with his other holdings on Bryan Neck, to the Union Camp Paper Company. The Ford operations at Richmond Hill were officially suspended on June 30, 1952.
Click here to read oral histories from Ford employees in Richmond Hill, taken in 1951.
Richmond Hill photographed during the Model A Restorers Club Annual Meeting in 2019
Click below to see a documentary about the home, Richmond Hill
Front entrance Gate
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Center and Right:
Henry and Clara Ford at home at Richmond Hill |
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Living and Dining Rooms at Richmond Hill