Who Invented the Snowplow?

The snow plow is a device designed to remove snow from areas. Usually, this is conducted on roads and in parking lots, but can be used for other purposes. Snowplows are commonly attached to trucks and tractors. Sometimes special vehicles are constructed to remove snow. Essentially, a large blade scrapes along the ground and pushed the snow out of the way. The device was designed over the course of time, with a number of additions and alterations taking place throughout history.

Colonial Era

Since at least the Colonial era, roads and bridges needed to have the snow removed in order to keep traffic and commerce moving. During this time, wooden wedges were drawn by horses to push snow aside.

Rotary Snowplow

The first mechanized snow plow was built by the Leslie Brothers company in 1883. Called the rotary snow plow, it was attached to trains to push snow off the tracks while transporting goods and people.

Norway

With the invention of the automobile, a number of inventors set out to develop a viable option. In 1923, two Norwegian brothers named Hans and Even Overaasen developed snow plows for use on cars.

USA

During the same time in the United States, Carl Frink established the Frink-America company and began to build snow plows for use on a variety of vehicles. Frink's design was more elaborate than the Norwegian one in that it could easily be removed for the summer months.

Chicago

Throughout the 20th century, cities in the North were constantly inundated with large snowstorms. The traditional snow plow that was attached to trucks were not enough to remove the snow from highways fast enough. During the middle of the century, Chicago introduced large trucks specifically for snow removal.

Resources

• History of Snow Removal