Very Early Historical Snowcat

[Melensdad]

Thought this was very interesting

From the Idaho State Historical Society: http://www.idahohistory.net/sherwood.html

On February 19, 1907, Joseph Sherwood was granted U.S. Patent No. 844,963 for an "auto snow-car," devised to fight deep snow drifts and also provide hauling capabilities. He based his design on a horse-drawn four-runner sled. The front runners were used to steer and were controlled by a sprocket gear which could lift them up and over snowdrifts. The sleigh weighed less than a thousand pounds and may have reached speeds up to 12 miles per hour.

 

[sledhaus]

There are two photos of this machine in operation on display at the Black Bear Resturant in West Yellowstone. Island Park is just down the road where Sherwood was from. He also built his own car around that same time.

 

[Melensdad]

He also built his own car around that same time.

The link I provided takes you back to the historical society website, they show a photo and provide a description of the car too.

The man seemed to be very ingenious and solved problems that others could not, but doesn't seem to have made the history books.