Henry Ford High School was named in honor of the famed industrialist Henry Ford, Sr. who pioneered the automotive industry in Michigan. Less than three years after the January 1955 ground breaking ceremony, Detroit's Henry Ford High School opened its doors to 9th and 10th grade students on September 5, 1957. The school was built on a 23.5 acre site (costing approx. $120,000), which was part of a parcel of land known as Southfield Woods. The building cost was $2.275M. 

At that time Ford consisted mainly of classrooms and a cafeteria - there was no 11th or 12th grade until the fall of 1959. Ford had no gym, auditorium, or laboratory facilities. Its initial capacity was designed for 1,225 people. The initial enrollment was 1,541 students and 64 faculty members. Construction of additional facilities would be completed by the end of 1962:

Timeline of Important Events
The First 20 Years 

• February 2, 1959: The last 9th grade class (for a decade) entered Ford.  Those students were Freshmen for 3 consecutive semesters.

• February 24, 1959: Ford was accredited by the University of Michigan.
• June 12, 1961: A groundbreaking ceremony was held to begin construction of the gym, auditorium, and laboratory facilities.
• October 1961: Construction was well underway toward the scheduled September 1962 completion date.
• March 28, 1963: Ford's dedication ceremony was held. Bob Salinger spoke for the students - his topic was The Students Dedicate.
• January 1, 1971: The Michigan Legislature mandated that the Detroit Public Schools become decentralized. This mandate brought about the destabilization of Detroit schools which lasted over two decades. A more detailed history of this process was prepared by Deborah M. McGriff, Ph.D., General Superintendent, Detroit Public Schools.
• September 1971: 9th grade classes were resumed at Ford. However, Ford did not take students from all of its secondary schools, and parents had to give their permission before a student could attend. At a later date, the remaining schools in Ford's Constellation sent their graduating 8th grade students to Ford.
• September 1973: A seven week teacher's strike delayed the start of the Fall semester. Because of this strike, 1974 graduations were delayed one month.
• February 1974:  Ford graduation ceremonies were held in February & July. Due to its size and the number of guests, the July graduation could not be held in the high school auditorium. Instead, it was held in downtown Detroit in the Ford Auditorium on July 12, 1974.
• August 1975: Federal judge Robert DeMascio ordered the desegregation of the Detroit Public Schools, which resulted in bussing over 19,000 students and the relocation of 53,000 families.
• January 1977: The last January class graduated from Ford. From this date onward Ford (and all Detroit Public Schools) only held June graduations.
• October 1978: Students and Staff were photographed, and then IDs were issued at Ford. This policy was implemented in an effort to control access to Ford thereby reducing locker break-ins, disruptive actions, and vandalism by "outsiders."