How did they plow the roads in the 1800's?

Question

Or did they?
They had sleighs, but wouldn't the horses have sunk into the snow? I've seen antique wooden shovels, which must've been heavy, but I can't imagine how they cleared about the roads.

Answer 1

Wow. I never really thought about it at all.
I copy and pasted this info from http://nsidc.org/snow/shovel.html
Hope it some what answers your question

Enterprising inventors were issued the first patents for snow plows in the 1840s, but several years passed before the plow designs were put to use. One of the first mentions of snow plow use comes from Milwaukee in 1862. The plow was attached to a cart pulled by a team of horses through the snow-clogged streets. Over the next several years, horse-drawn plows gained popularity and came into use in many other Northeastern cities. Intercity steam trains, having made their appearance several years earlier, now puffed and whistled their way through heavy drifts with giant plows attached to their front ends. Salt was used in a few cities, but was strongly protested because it ruined the streets for sleighing and damaged the shoes and clothing of pedestrians. However, the invention of the snow plow initiated widespread snow removal efforts in cities and also created a basis for municipal responsibility in snow removal.

Answer 2

Before wooden snow plows were invented, snow rollers were used. A large wooden roller was weighted with rocks and usually pulled by a team of 4 horses. Each town had a snow warden whose job was to keep the roads open. After a moderate storm, the roller was employed to pack the snow, if the snow had become too deep, usually because of snow drifts, then men shoveled out the snow so the horse team could continue.

Businesses and people who had buggies etc., would ether remove their wheels replacing them with steel runners, or the used their sleighs. My grandfather who lived in Thompson, Connecticut had a roller in his shed and would hook-up a team of horses from a local farmer to roll the snow in the Klondike area of Thompson.

Answer 3

They waited until the snow stopped and if they could get out and had to go somewhere, they just did the best they could with the wagons and buggies. They usually were prepared to stay at home for most of the winter if it snowed a lot where they lived. They canned vegetables and the snow made a handy refrigerator for the meat that the men killed nearby. If the snow was too high they just stayed home.

Answer 4

Snow was trampled down by human and animal feet. You have to remember that back in those days, people ate differently and had more solid bodies. They were stronger and probably had little problem using those antique shovels. Even the women did men's work, like splitting logs.

Answer 5

Well, from what I heard, thats the reason why traveling was so hard in the winter. Many of the roads were dirt roads, so during the winter nobody traveled. When spring came, the majority of people continued to travel to wherever they wanted to go. However, some roads in major cities were made of stone and pebbles which made traveling through snow much easier.

Answer 6

They used large rollers pulled by 4 horses to compact the snow for sleighs.

Answer 7

They didn't. A horse could get through the snow unless it was very deep. My guess is if it was really bad, folks stayed home. Most people never went over 20 miles away from their homes, so traveling was an exception, not the rule.

Answer 8

There were almost no roads to plow. I seriously doubt there was any type of snow removal except for sidewalks in large cities.

Answer 9

horses can walk in snow, they got long legs and stuff. plus they have crazy big nose holes, I'm not sure why. The horses are badass, they didn't have to clear the roads for them

Answer 10

Animal drawn snow plows. Horses, oxen, etc...

It was much more difficult, yes.