Leonis Adobe Museum - Share the Legend

The scraper digs and dumps soil to level the land. Drag scrapers like this one helped dug irrigation canals and ditches, and helped to build roads, railroads, and dams. This scraper is pulled by a team of horses. The drag scraper digs when the back hook is released. When the hook is reattached and the handle lifted, the load of dirt is dumped. This one was in common use in the early 1800's and was replaced in the 1890's by the Fresno scraper. Pictured right is a drag scraper or skip scraper. It was pulled with a team, filled and then upset at the final location.

The advent of the tractor in the 1910-20's, displaced the horses and mules, and provided mechanical and hydraulic control means to aid the operator. Present day scrapers are built to scrape up to 30 cubic yards and to carry such loads at speeds up to 30 mph. Laser beam controlled scrapers have also reduced surveying and operator skill requirements for land leveling for agricultural and construction.

Our drag scraper starts to dig in when the hook in the back is released. This allows the axle to swing forward and the scraper to drop to the ground. By reattaching the hook and lifting up in the handle, the load was dumped.