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By Joseph Richard Winters
Born in Virginia to a brickmaker father and a Shawnee mother, Winters moved to Pennsylvania around 1840. Working as a mechanic for the railroad, he was also an active member of the Underground Railroad. He is notably credited with arranging the historic meeting between Frederick Douglass and John Brown before the Harpers Ferry raid in 1859. His civic duty and mechanical skills led him to improve fire ladders, which were often made of wood, heavy, and difficult to manage at the time.
Although the idea of a wagon-mounted ladder already existed, Winters was granted Patent No. 203,517 on May 7, 1878, for a revolutionary version. Unlike previous models, his ladder replaced wood with a metal frame and parallel steps. He later filed two more patents: one in 1879 for improved mobility on the wagon, and one in 1882 (No. 258,186) for a version that could be affixed directly to buildings.
Winters' impact was immediate: the Chambersburg fire department was among the first to utilize his metal ladder mounted on a horse-drawn wagon. His design paved the way for modern telescopic metal ladders used by fire trucks today. His legacy is that of a versatile man poet, human rights advocate, and safety engineer.
Winters is recognized as a major figure in Pennsylvania history. In 2005, the State Historical and Museum Commission erected a historical marker in his honor in Chambersburg. Although his autobiography has been lost, his contributions to public safety and the fight against slavery remain a vital part of American history.
