grand eskimobile
Amsnow
The Eskimobile was first built in 1920 by John and Henry Swansen of The Eskimobile Company in Almena, Wisconsin. The original Eskimobiles were fashioned from Model T and Model A Ford vehicles.
The Eskimobiles were used by Rural Free Delivery mail carriers, doctors and veterinarians in the snowy regions of the United States because they did not plow the roads. The Eskimobile helped get the mail to those living out of town during the winter months.
A fiberboard body was created over the rear of the vehicle for storage space. The vehicle had an iron track and one ski in the front which allowed the machine to move in deep snow. The track wrapped around two sets of wheels which had a pivot point. The front wheels were still there.
From October to April, the Eskimobile Co.'s crew worked on Eskimobiles. The rest of the year, they produced farm rigs under the brand names Linkon and Linken.
Another product out of the Almena factory was the Stiltmobile. It was made from Ford vehicles. Instead of a track, it had tall skinny wheels which paddled through the mud and snow. The tires in the rear measured 56 by five inches in diameter and 44 by four inches in the front. These vehicles worked well in all types of weather and terrain, which eventually lessened demand for the snow-traveling Eskimobile.
World War II closed the Swansen's machine shop. John Swansen died in 1948 at the age of 50, the shop never reopened after that. Between the years of 1927-1936, 175 known Eskimobiles were made and shipped primarily to Rural Free Delivery drivers. John Swansen's nephew, Henry Swansen Jr., born in 1927, grew up around the Eskimobile Company's shop. He has tracked down each one- and can show you a detailed list of serial numbers and original buyers for every one.
In 1994, Henry found Eskimobile number 152 in Sawyer, North Dakota. He purchased it from Leonard Kessner and set out to restore it. With the help of his two sons and some friends, after six years and 3000 hours of restoration efforts, Swansen has himself a finished Eskimobile. He displayed his restored treasure at the Minneapolis/St. Paul Auto Show in the Spring of 2000.