John Baptiste Ford

His mother, Margaret, the daughter of Jean Baptiste, an immigrant from France who had fought in the American Revolutionary War, apprenticed young John at the age of 12 to a Danville saddlemaker.

Ford began as an apprentice with his future father-in-law in the local saddle shop which led him into his first business venture.

[1] Ford moved to New Albany in 1854 and opened a factory to manufacture feed-cutting boxes constructed of wood and iron.

Ford's son Emory graduated in July 1864 from Duff's Mercantile College upriver in Pittsburgh.

In 1867, the Fords had greatly expanded the factory and began to study the technology to produce plate glass, which until now was imported from Europe.

In 1870, they had successfully mastered the technology and had the skilled workforce in place to produce the first plate glass in the United States.

In 1880, Ford left New Albany and opened the New York City Plate Glass Company with a plant in Creighton, Pennsylvania.

In 1893, Ford founded a chemical company that supplied vital soda ash for the glass production.

In 1902, the village was named in honor of Captain Ford, who at the time was President of the Michigan Alkali Company (now BASF Wyandotte) and prominent citizen in local affairs.

The Michigan Alkali Company had strongly sought tax relief and expanded utility services and suggested merging the two communities.

The once largest employer in Armstrong County, Eljer Plumbing, shut down its Ford City plant in 2008.

On December 11, 2017, the Town Council in Greenville, Indiana named a historic roadway after John Baptiste Ford.