[1] In 1845, David Schuyler Haywood constructed a gristmill at this site[2] on the western edge of Saline, Michigan.

[5] Henry Ford purchased the site in 1936,[6] refurbished it, and opened it as a soybean processing plant in 1938.

[2] The site employed up to 19 people,[2] who removed the soybean oil from the beans, which was processed into plastics and paint.

[3] In 1943, Ford moved a one-room Greek Revival schoolhouse to the site and refurbished it as a residence.

[2] However, the processing equipment was soon obsolete,[5] and in 1962, the property was turned into an antique shop and general store, know first as the "Sauk Trail Inn".