It gave way to Harris Manufacturing which in turn became the Janesville Machine Company before it joined Samson Tractor Company. Then General Motors bought it in 1918 before changing the Janesville location over to cars in 1923.
Through the years the sprawling factory and various local suppliers built thousands of vehicles and served as the industrial engine for Rock County's biggest community.
My Dad didn't work for General Motors, but he was an engineer for a company which primarily made auto parts. Most of those parts were purchased by Ford.
A lot of my friends and classmates fathers worked at GM, including our next door neighbor. For years, kids graduating from Janesville's high schools could go to work at the plant and expect to retire from there in 30 to 40 years.
My 1981 class was one of the last ones to offer that slice of the American dream as the Janesville factory closed its doors in 2008.
While I served as the Rock County bureau reporter from 1989 to 1992 it was the focus of dozens of stories. Here are a few of them in this week's edition of Vintage Video.
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