By Doug Meloan, Curator
In the early 20th century, winter could isolate rural communities for weeks at a time. Roads were rarely plowed yet mail still had to be delivered and doctors still needed to reach patients. While the Ford Model T revolutionized everyday transportation, it struggled once deep snow arrived. For inventor and Ford dealer Virgil D. White of snowy West Ossipee, New Hampshire, that limitation sparked a simple but powerful idea: the automobile should be useful year-round.
White developed a conversion kit that transformed a standard Model T into a snow-traveling machine he called a “snowmobile.” His design replaced the front wheels with skis and the rear wheels with caterpillar tracks, paired with a heavy-duty worm-gear driveline for improved traction. Simple yet rugged, the system allowed Model Ts to glide over snow that would otherwise bring them to a halt.
White patented both his design and the term “snowmobile” in 1917, refining the concept through real-world winter use. By 1922, the kits were sold through Ford dealers, and demand quickly grew among mail carriers, doctors, utility crews, and emergency services. In 1925, White sold the production rights to a Wisconsin manufacturer, and the kits continued under names such as the Mailman’s Special and Snow Bird.
Though eventually replaced by purpose-built snow vehicles, Virgil White’s Model T snowmobile stands as a remarkable example of early automotive ingenuity—proof that necessity, creativity, and a little winter grit could keep America moving even in the harshest conditions.
While an estimated 100,000 to 300,000 standard Model Ts are believed to exist today, the snowmobile conversion is far rarer. Due to the harsh conditions they endured and the later removal of the kits, it is believed that only about 400 Model T Snowmobiles survive from approximately 25,000 produced during the 1920s.
One of these rare original Model T Snowmobiles is currently on display at the Midwest Dream Car Collection. Be sure to visit the museum soon to see it in person before it is put away for the spring and summer months.
