William Dana Ewart (April 24, 1851 – May 3, 1908) invented and patented the linked belt, a square detachable link for
chain belts, on September 1, 1874. The metal chain "linked belt" replaced the leather and strap belts used on agricultural equipment at the time.
A resident of
Belle Plaine, Iowa
Belle Plaine is a city in Benton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,330 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is part of the Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids metropolitan area, Metropolitan Statistical Area.
...
, Ewart was a farm-implement dealer when he conceived of the idea.
[Wilson, Bill. (June 2001) "Crane producer continues to strengthen customer base worldwide " ''Roads & Bridges'' June 2001 Volume: 39 Number: 6.] In 1875, Ewart established the Ewart Manufacturing Co. in Belle Plaine, Iowa. In 1880 he founded the
Link-Belt Machinery Company and in 1888 the Link-Belt Engineering Company. In the early 1890s, Ewart's companies produced the first wide-gauge, steam-powered, coal-handling clamshell crane, the further development of which would eventually lead to the modern Link-Belt construction equipment. Link-Belt chain drives were used in a variety of applications, including auto assembly lines, coal mining, concrete mixers, and agricultural machinery.
Ewart was inducted into the
Association of Equipment Manufacturers
The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) is a North American-based trade association representing off-road equipment manufacturers and suppliers, with more than 1,000 companies and more than 200 product lines in the agriculture and constr ...
Hall of Fame
in 1996 at CONEXPO-CONAGG.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ewart, William Dana
19th-century American inventors
People from Belle Plaine, Iowa
1851 births
1908 deaths