Harry Herbert Bennett (January 17, 1892 – January 4, 1979) was a boxer, naval sailor, and businessman. From 1915 to 1945, he worked for Ford Motor Company and was known as the head of Ford’s “service department,” which was the company’s internal security group. While working for Henry Ford, Bennett’s actions against labor unions made him an enemy of the United Auto Workers (UAW) trade union. He became known for his role in events such as the Battle of the Overpass, a 1937 incident where Ford security guards attacked UAW members protesting for better wages. In one event, Bennett used a machine gun to fire at a group of protesters, killing a 16-year-old boy.

Bennett lived in several places in Michigan, including the Great Lakes Landmark and Ford Motor Company. He built Pagodahouse, an Asian-themed boathouse on Grosse Ile; Bennett’s Lodge, a log cabin-style house near Farwell; and Bennett’s Castle, an estate on the Huron River in Ypsilanti, where he kept pet lions and tigers. After being fired by Henry Ford II in 1945, Bennett moved to California. He died on January 4, 1979, in Los Gatos, California, from causes that were not publicly shared.

Biography

Harry Bennett was born in 1892 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He attended public schools. As a young man, he began boxing and won some local matches. He worked as a sailor in the U.S. Navy during World War I.

Career

In the early years of Ford Motor Company, a security group known as the Ford Service Department was created. Its job was to control labor unrest and stop new labor unions from forming. Ford had a policy called "speed up," where assembly line speeds increased slightly each week. Workers felt the stress from this. Labor problems sometimes caused violent fights between Ford's managers, the police, and workers. Henry Ford needed someone who could handle difficult situations as head of the Service Department.

Harry Bennett led the Ford Motor Company Service Department for over 20 years, starting in 1921. Bennett was 5 feet 6 inches tall (1.68 meters) and very physically strong because of his boxing and time in the Navy. A story says Bennett's connection to Ford began in 1916 during a street fight in New York City. At the time, Bennett, 24, was a sailor. An acquaintance of Henry Ford, Bernie Ghers, saw the fight and helped Bennett avoid jail. Ghers, a newspaper writer with influence over the police, convinced them Bennett was not to blame. Ghers then took Bennett to meet Ford. Ford was more interested in Bennett's fighting skills than the business meeting. He offered Bennett a security job at the Rouge plant. Ford asked Bennett only one question during the interview: "Can you shoot?" Bennett said he could.

Bennett was known for being tough and intimidating at Ford plants. For practice, he used an air pistol to shoot BB pellets at a small target on a filing cabinet in his basement office. People nearby heard the quiet sounds of the pellets hitting the target. Bennett kept lions as pets at his home in Ann Arbor. He surprised other executives by bringing the "big cats" to his office and painting pictures of them.

Bennett often sat at his desk with his feet on the desk and a target at the other end of the room. He practiced shooting a 45-caliber gun in his office. If someone entered his office without being announced, they might have been hit by a bullet.

Bennett hired many football players, boxers, wrestlers, and members of a river gang as Service Department employees. He did not know how to build cars, but he did not need to. His close relationship with Henry Ford and his ability to complete tasks made him successful. All Henry Ford had to do was ask, "Can you take care of that, Harry?" and it was done.

Bennett was very loyal to Henry Ford. When a journalist asked him, "If Henry Ford asked you to black out the sky tomorrow, what would you do?" Bennett thought and replied, "I might have trouble making that happen, but you'd see 100,000 workers coming through the plant gates with dark glasses on tomorrow."

In the mid-1920s, Bennett often visited Ford's Fair Lane mansion to check on his boss. By the time Model A production began in 1928–29, these morning meetings became a regular habit. For most of 20 years, Bennett worked closely with Henry Ford.

Bennett led Ford's response to the Ford Hunger March of unemployed workers on March 7, 1932. Dearborn police and Ford Service Department members, including Bennett, shot at protesters as they approached the Ford River Rouge complex. Four marchers were killed, and Bennett was hospitalized after being hit by a rock.

By 1938, Bennett received phone and mail threats. His daughter, Gertrude, suddenly disappeared after a particularly threatening message. Federal agents searched for her but gave up when they found she had run away to Florida.

After Edsel Ford, Henry Ford's son, died in 1943, Henry Ford chose Bennett to replace him. However, Edsel's wife blamed Bennett for her husband's death and blocked the appointment. Instead, Henry Ford made Bennett a member of the Ford Motor Company board of directors. Later, Bennett tried to control the company through Henry Ford's will, but Ford's family forced him out. In September 1945, Henry Ford II was told he would become the new president. His first act was to fire Bennett. Bennett told the younger Ford, "You're taking over a billion-dollar company that you haven't contributed a thing to." That afternoon, Bennett left Ford Motor Company, ending his 30-year career.

The ruthless Bennett era was finally over. Afterward, Henry Ford II told Bennett about his first decision: "I went to him with my guard up. I was sure he was going to blow my head off." Ford calmly said, "Well, now Harry is back on the streets where he started."

Residences

The Ford Pagoda House / Harry Bennett Boathouse on Grosse Ile, Michigan, is one of the most famous homes built for Harry Bennett. It has been a well-known landmark on the Great Lakes since the 1930s. Many people, including boaters, drivers, and tourists, visit the site to see its large size and unique design, which seems to rise from the water. The building was designed by an architect named Angelotti and built by the Ford Motor Company.

When it became unsafe for Harry Bennett to live in Dearborn, the Fords moved him and his family to this island home. Bennett was very careful about his safety. He avoided using the front door and instead traveled by yacht or used a tunnel under West River Road to reach a car near the stables, which would take him to the Rouge plant in Dearborn.

The upper level of the house includes an arched bridge, a tile roof, and wraparound decks. It has three bedroom suites, bathrooms, a kitchen with Venetian glass, a laundry room, a second kitchen, and cedar closets. In the servants’ hallway, Ford artists created special wall designs, including gold leaf dragons, lotus flowers, fish, and a library with mahogany panels and a fireplace that had hidden panels. The lower level has a half-acre parking area and includes a hidden circular staircase leading to indoor boat wells, servants’ quarters, and a wine cellar with a mahogany bar. This connects to the tunnel under West River Road.

Bennett also had a lodge built for him in Freeman Township, Michigan, on Lost Lake. The lodge was made of brick, concrete blocks, and concrete siding that looked like a log cabin. It had wooden floors and wall paneling, a 128-foot-long porch, and a stone fireplace. The chairs and sofas were custom-made by skilled craftsmen and covered in high-quality leather, the same type used in Ford’s most luxurious cars of the time.

A swimming pool near the lodge had a special viewing room next to it, which included a wet bar. A glass window allowed Bennett and his guests to watch swimmers from underwater.

Bennett was very concerned about safety, so he added many security features to the lodge. The building was surrounded by a moat filled with pointed posts, and the bridge over the moat was kept stocked with dynamite.

The lodge had many unique features. A hidden passageway behind a hinged bookcase in the study led to the dock. The steps in the passageway were all different heights, making it harder for someone to walk down without tripping. Bennett practiced running down the steps to remember their spacing, which could help him escape if needed. One hidden room allowed access to a central point in the ventilation system, where voices from other rooms could be heard clearly.

The roof had a guard station with a fireplace to keep watchmen warm during 24-hour armed duty in cold weather. Bennett also had a private airfield with an airplane at the other end of Lost Lake. If an attack happened, he could use the secret passageway, go to the dock, take a boat across the lake, and escape by airplane. No attack ever occurred.

In 1964, the Boy Scouts of America, Clinton Valley Council, purchased the lodge and property. The area was developed into the Lost Lake Scout Reservation. The lodge was later abandoned after the reservation closed. Much of the furniture remains, but the pool is now in poor condition. Trees have been planted on the airfield.

Bennett also had a similar building on the north side of Geddes Road, near Ypsilanti, about 3,000 feet from his estate. It was a concrete cabin designed to look like a log cabin. A hidden door disguised as a bookshelf rotated to reveal access to an upper level used as a lookout. This entry was behind the fireplace and included gun ports for defense. Near this cabin was an underground bunker with a separate building containing a Ford flathead V8 engine to generate power, making the property self-sustaining. The bunker was similar to those at Ford’s Fair Lane estate. The compound also had a sugar bush that produced maple syrup. The property included a circular drive with curbs, and the barn on Geddes Road had a cornerstone with “Harry Bennett” engraved on it.

Bennett had another hideout on a hill overlooking the Sky Valley desert, 15 minutes from Palm Springs, California. This compound covered 60 acres and included a group of buildings with 14 bedrooms, a 40-foot indoor pool, an indoor sauna, and a barbeque pit. The property had its own well that could produce 100 gallons of hot fresh water per minute.

Later life and death

After Henry Ford II fired him, Bennett burned his Ford Motor Company records in his basement office. He then retired to an 800-acre estate and natural area he owned near Desert Springs, California. His final public event was when he was asked to speak during the Kefauver Senate Crime Investigation Committee Hearings in 1951, the same year he published his memoirs about his time at Ford. After that, he lived a quiet life away from the public, staying healthy until he reached the age of 80.

For the last six years of his life, Bennett experienced worsening health. In 1973, he had a serious stroke. In 1975, he moved into the Beverly Manor Nursing Home in Los Gatos, California. He passed away on January 4, 1979. His death was not reported in the news for a week, and the reason for his death was not shared with the public at that time.

Memoir

• Bennett, Harry (1951). We Never Called Him Henry. New York: Gold Medal Books. ASIN B000I955G2. LCCN 51036122.