The Thew Shovel Company was founded in 1899 by Captain Richard Thew. Captain Thew was the captain of a Lake Erie freighter named the William P. Thew, after his father. He became interested in the difficult problem of handling iron ore and coal deposited on docks from the lake freighters. He invented a new kind of shovel that revolved 360-degrees and could dig and deliver material from any position. This is a picture of the very first Thew Shovel from 1895.