Mystery: Horse-drawn snow plow returned after 60 years
Published: November 2, 2006
It all began two years ago, when President of the Medfield Historical Society, George Gray, was given a tip from the Westwood Historical Society about a supposed Medfield horse-drawn snow plow being kept under bales of hay in a Westwood barn for over 60 years. Sure enough, when Grey went to investigate, he stumbled across the 10 foot long plow, painted in the traditional Medfield blue color.
“It’s been two years now trying to get that snow plow home, and with the cooperation of the new owner of the Westwood barn, we have finally got it back,” explained Gray.
After finding the historical horse-drawn snow plow, difficulties in retrieving it developed when the original owner of the barn in which it was found moved. It wasn’t until the new owner was settled in that Medfield was able to move it back to its rightful home.
The question still remains, however, as to how the plow ended up in the barn in Westwood for more than 60 years in the first place. To unravel this mystery, a meeting was held Tuesday to discuss the plow and its history. Anyone who had any knowledge of the plow and its background were invited to attend.
According to Gray, the current owner of the barn, Dr. Bart Smith, had no idea why the plow was left in the barn located on Gay Street in Westwood; but he was looking for more space and was happy to return it to Medfield. A possible link discussed at the meeting was that the previous owner of Smith’s barn was a Kingsbury. The Kingsburys are a well known family with long history in this town. Landmarks, such as the high school and Kingsbury pond were named after them. It is probable the owner moved from Medfield, bringing the plow with him, and then left it in the barn after he moved out.
“This may be a connection, but we’re not sure yet,” said John Thompson, President of the Dwight Derby House where the plow is now being stored.
Thompson also said that the historical society and the Dwight Derby House have been researching the plow since they received it a week ago, and know some general background information.
The plow is in excellent condition and was made in the early 1900s in Boston by the New England Machinery Company. About 4 feet wide and 10 feet long, the plow is incredibly heavy, so it is suspected that large draft horses were needed to pull it. A steering wheel on top allowed for better travel through the snow, but it was still very difficult and time consuming.
The plow was used by Medfield public works to clear the roads after snow storms, obviously a less speedy means than we are accustomed to today with our high-powered pick-up trucks and mechanical snow plows.
“It took a lot of work back then to get the streets plowed,” noted Thompson, “You couldn’t just wait a couple hours and rush off to Route 128. It took around 2 or 3 days when a storm hit.”
Many Medfield residents at the meeting remember living in this quintessential world of simplicity, where patience was a necessary virtue. Roger Hardy recalled such plows being used back in the 1930s and said that the old-fashioned plows have a few set-backs.
“The problem we had was the plow would go right up over the snow,” Hardy said.
Hardy went on to explain that the snow-plows, because they were designed like sleds, often rode over the snow, and to prevent this, workers encouraged children to jump on the back for a fun ride to help keep the plow weighed down.
“I certainly would have run after it as a kid if I had seen it plowing down my street,” joked Thompson.
As for future plans with the unique discovery, Thompson believes the Dwight Derby House will bring the plow out for display at next year’s Medfield Day.
“We’d like to bring it out and compare it [to the current plow] on Medfield Day. We’re going to try to get some horses to link to it, and let kids climb on for pictures.”
George Gray also said that the snow plow may be used as a centerpiece for a collection of old farm instruments.
Although an amazing piece of town history, the days of horse-drawn snow plows are certainly not something that workers for the Department of Public Works wish to relive today.
Superintendent of the DPW Ken Feeney, when first seeing the antique contraption, joked, “You don’t expect us to use that, do you?”
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