MORNING SENTINEL • August 13, 2020
The historic Lombard log hauler is in a new home on the grounds of the Waterville Historical Society’s Redington Museum on Silver Street after spending decades in a low visibility spot off Front Street downtown. The log hauler, invented by Alvin O. Lombard of Waterville, was patented in 1901 and revolutionized the way the lumbering industry operated in Maine. Its concept of using a caterpillar tread, or continuous track for vehicle propulsion, was later used on army tanks in World War I, as well as for agricultural tractors and construction equipment after the war.