Business

• The Ypsilanti Water Tower was completed on February 3, 1890. This structure stands 147 feet and holds 250,000 gallons of water and was constructed for $21,368. The tower is operated today by the Ypsilanti Community Utilities Authority.
• The oldest producer of wood ladders in the nation was founded in 1901 in Ypsilanti. The corporation still manufactures wood ladders today.
• In the late 1930's, after Henry Ford brought automotive manufacturing to Ypsilanti, the area became the site for one of World War II's most ambitious manufacturing programs, the Willow Run Bomber Plant. This plant manufactured 8,000 B-24 Bombers or one Bomber per hour.
  
  
• Miller Motor Sales in Historic Depot Town is the nation's sole surviving Hudson dealership.
  
  
• Some of Ypsilanti's more colorful early manufactured products included steel bustles for ladies' dresses and "Ypsilanti Health Underwear" -Long johns once known throughout the nation. The marketing slogan for the factory was "When Love Grows Cold Do Not Despair, There's Always Ypsilanti Underwear."
  
  
  
• Domino's Pizza's first store was established in Ypsilanti on December 9, 1960.
  
  
• The Ann Arbor Area Clean Cities Coalition, of which Ypsilanti is a part, was recently designated the 69th member of the Department of Energy's Clean Cities Program. The Department of Energy recognized the coalition's commitment to increasing the use of alternative use vehicles (AFVs) in communities across Washtenaw County
  
  
• Wiard's Orchards, dating earlier than 1853, is the oldest family owned and operated business in Washtenaw Country. Starting with an apple orchard and a cider mill, Wiard's has pressed enough cider over the years to fill the Ypsilanti Water Tower 12 times. Originally the upick apple orchard and cider mill was located on Wiard Road near what is now known as Willow Run Airport. In those early years the Wiards operated an apple orchard, cider mill, vinegar mill, and vineyards. In the 1940's, during World War II, the construction of the bomber plant at Willow Run forced the move to the current location in Ypsilanti Township, Washtenaw County, Michigan.