That plant was designed by Smith, Hinchman & Grylls and built by the Dodge Brothers to supply very delicate recoil mechanisms for French heavy artillery howitzers and field guns. It was designed and constructed in only 4 months and began production in March of 1918.

The contracted price for the factory and machinery was $3,500,000 but wartime inflation raised the price to $10,000,000, paid for by the US Government. Dodge Brothers bought the plant in 1920 from the government for $1,400,000.

Later, it was used by Graham Brothers Company to assemble trucks and after 1938 it was used by Chrysler to produce axles.