The Ford Twin Cities Assembly plant opened up back in 1925, right along the Mississippi River as a rather genius piece of decision making by FoMoCo founder Henry Ford. The plant was able to generate its own electrification via an adjacent hydroelectric dam, and wound up building a variety of vehicles over many ensuing years. The Twin Cities Assembly plant switched to truck-only production in 1978, and subsequently built Ford Ranger pickups up until the point that it closed in 2011. However, Ford still owns the 135-acre property, though it has been embroiled in controversy for some time now.