The Cork-Built Fordson Model F – The Tractor That Changed Farming | Season 6 – Episode 64
Wheels Jul 24, 2026
According to a newspaper advertisement by the Munster Motor Company of Ardcairn, Ballintemple, Cork, the new Fordson Model F tractor “will displace three or four horses on the farm and will plough your three-horse land up to an acre per hour.” It was a remarkable promise in 1919, when production had only just begun at Ford’s Marina plant in Cork City and the revolutionary tractor was about to usher in a new era of mechanised farming in Ireland.
HENRY’S ROOTS
Henry Ford’s father, William Ford, was born in Ballinascarty, County Cork, in 1826 before emigrating to Michigan in 1848. Henry Ford was born in Dearborn, Michigan, on 30 July 1863 and always remained proud of his Cork ancestry.
On 16 June 1903, Henry Ford and eleven investors founded the Ford Motor Company in Detroit. Five years later, the introduction of the Model T transformed personal transport while pioneering assembly-line production.
THE FORDSON
During the First World War, Ford turned his attention to agriculture. Working with a team of engineers, he developed the Fordson Model F, with the first prototypes appearing in 1915.
Powered by a 20-horsepower four-cylinder engine, the tractor featured an innovative unit-cast design, with the engine, transmission and axle forming the chassis. Widely regarded as the “Model T of farming”, its affordable price placed mechanised farming within reach of ordinary farmers. Capable of ploughing, hauling and powering stationary machinery, the Fordson rapidly replaced horses on farms around the world.
THE CORK FACTORY
By the autumn of 1917, Fordson tractor production was underway in Dearborn, Michigan, with the machines shipped to Trafford Park, England, for final assembly. The first 6,900 were known as MoM (Ministry of Munitions) tractors and did not carry the Fordson name.
Earlier in the spring of 1917, two tractors were shipped to England for government trials. Although accounts differ over whether Lord Northcliffe or Ford’s British Managing Director Percival Perry initiated the tests, the successful outcome persuaded the British Government to approve construction of a Ford factory on the former Cork Park Racecourse beside the Marina.
Henry Ford & Son Ltd. was incorporated on 17 April 1917 at 36 South Mall, Cork. In his autobiography, Ford admitted his decision was partly personal, describing it as an opportunity to “start Ireland along the road to industry.”
Cork also made commercial sense. It was considered less vulnerable to German U-boats than Britain, was closer to America for imported components and offered a large labour force. Ford attracted workers with an eight-hour five-day week and a minimum wage of £5 per week, well above local rates.
Construction continued despite the political upheaval of the Irish War of Independence, with managers recruiting and training an inexperienced workforce while racing to begin production.
THE FIRST CORK-BUILT FORDSON
On 3 July 1919, the first Fordson Model F rolled off the production line at Ford’s Marina factory. The following day, American Independence Day, Cork’s Lord Mayor William F. O’Connor was photographed sitting on the historic machine. Henry Ford later presented the tractor to British Prime Minister David Lloyd George.
By the end of 1919, the Marina plant had produced 303 Fordson tractors.
Production reached its peak in 1920, when 3,626 tractors were built. Although output fell during the political unrest of 1921, Cork earned an outstanding reputation within Ford. By the end of that summer, its foundry supplied all cast-iron components for Ford’s Manchester plant and was regarded as the finest foundry in the company. Cork was also manufacturing complete Model T engines.
THIS TRACTOR
This Fordson Model F belongs to a Cork-based father-and-son team of collectors dedicated to preserving these historic tractors and the farm implements that worked alongside them. We’ll be featuring more machines from their collection in future stories.
One of this tractor’s most distinctive features is its petrol tank. Instead of the familiar “Dearborn, Michigan, U.S.A.” stamping, it proudly carries “Cork, Ireland” pressed into the metal. As a later model, it also features the improved solid side radiator introduced in late 1919 and six-spoke rear wheels.
Most of its castings and components were manufactured at the Cork factory. Although restored before joining the collection, only minor details remain to return it to exact factory specification, including repainting the toolbox from black back to white. When I asked Keith what still needed to be done, he smiled and replied, “Put petrol in it and drive it away.”
THE END OF TRACTOR PRODUCTION
On 23 February 1921, Ford began producing Fordson tractors at its vast Rouge plant in Dearborn. Manufacturing there proved more economical than exporting tractors from Cork.
The Marina factory completed its remaining orders before tractor production ended on 29 December 1922, when Fordson No. 253562 became the last tractor to leave the line. Factory records identify it as the 7,605th Fordson built in Cork, although many publications quote a total of 7,597. The reason for the discrepancy has never been explained.
The tractor machinery was transferred to Dearborn and Cork turned to manufacturing Model T components for Britain and assembling cars for the Irish market.
Although relatively few Cork-built Fordson Model Fs survive today, they remain enduring symbols of one of Ireland’s greatest industrial achievements. Built in Cork and exported across the world, they transformed farming and demonstrated that Irish manufacturing could compete on a global stage.
If you have an idea for a story, please email Kevin Reid at [email protected].
Sources of Information, Photo, Video & Music Credits:
All music and sound effects used in Ireland Made – Stories of Irish Transport are royalty free and fully licensed through Epidemic Sound. Ireland Made – Stories of Irish Transport therefore holds the legal right to use this audio material within its productions under the terms of the Epidemic Sound licensing agreement.
Assembly Magazine
Brief History of Ford in Cork – De Courcey Vintage Club Programme (2014), K. Bryan
Cork City Library
Lord Mayor of Cork was an Unsung Hero when Ford Production Began in 1919 – Irish Examiner (2017)
RTE Century Ireland Boston College – FEATURE: When Ford Motors came to Cork – Dr Leanne Blaney
Starting Ireland on the Road to Industry: Henry Ford in Cork, Volume 1 – Thomas Grimes PhD
The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Tractors – John Carroll
Wikipedia Commons
