Trapped in Time

Lancaster, Pa.-based Woodstream, the company that manufactures and markets Victor and Havahart brand pest and wildlife control products, recently loaned its vast collection of historical rodent and steel traps to the Trap History Museum in Galloway, Ohio.

The museum, founded by Tom Parr, features more than 4,000 traps, from mouse to bear. It also houses a wide variety of fur trade items such as early tools, animal baits, pack baskets and a library of fur trade books.

Parr, 78, told PCT the museum is designed to help make people aware of how fur trapping influenced American history. “Fur trapping has a really interesting history and it shouldn’t be overlooked,” he said. “The fur trade played a big part in American history and I would like people to go away from the museum with a better knowledge of what the fur trade was and is today.”

The collection from Woodstream features a wide range of early traps as well as traps from different manufacturers around the world, said Woodstream’s Mike Goldstein, sales manager, Professional Products. Traps include rodent snap and multiple catch, as well as steel traps for wildlife and fur, including coil spring and long spring traps, Goldstein said.

Parr, who also is the president of the North American Trap Collectors Association, said that of the thousands of traps Woodstream loaned the museum, many are prototypes or one-of-a-kind models.

The collection contains early versions of mouse and rat snap traps from Mast, Oneida and the Animal Trap Company, which served as the predecessor to the company’s iconic Victor snap trap. Goldstein said some traps (Newhouse, Oneida and Victor brands) date back to the 1800s and were used by professional fur trappers.

“When you look back at the snap traps or multiple catch traps, you have all kinds of unique traps that were manufactured,” Goldstein said.

Before Woodstream loaned the collection to the Trap History Museum, the company kept most of its old and unique traps in a room nicknamed “the museum.” Although the room was not open to the public, or even many employees, it held enough traps that those who had access to the room likened it to a museum.

Parr traveled to Pennsylvania to pick up the traps with a large trailer. However, he soon realized he would need to make a second trip because of the large number of traps. Parr had previously catalogued the contents of the collection and identified the various types of traps it contained.

Founded in the 1800s originally as Oneida Community, Woodstream owns several brands, including Victor, Havahart, Safer Brand, Mosquito Magnet, Dynatrap and Terro. The firm is known for its Victor snap traps and has seven locations worldwide.

To learn more about the Trap History Museum, visit www.traphistorymuseum.com.