History of the Project

The former Frink America, Inc. site, located at 205 Webb Street, Clayton, New York consists of roughly 8.3 acres of land, including 1,500 feet of frontage on the St. Lawrence River.  This site is currently going through a remediation effort through the Environmental Protection Agency in an attempt to clean up contaminated soil related to its historic industrial operations.

Frink America, Inc. shut its doors on May 31, 2000.  Since the 1920’s the company had manufactured the Frink snowplow.  Acting on a dare from a friend, bus line owner Fred Daily, Carl Frink, a tire shop owner, invented and constructed the first steel snowplow in order to clear the bus route from Clayton to Watertown, New York.  This plow was created to fasten to the undercarriage of a car or truck.  It was a hit.  By the 1930’s the Frink snowplow was being manufactured for local orders and orders around the state, the country, and the world.  As time went on the company remained the “premier manufacturer of heavy duty highway, airport, and commercial snowplows.”

The company operated at the same location, at 205 Webb Street, Clayton, since 1929—although the original building burnt in 1960. 

Once the clean up of the former Frink America, Inc. site is completed, mixed-use development is planned.  This may include new park areas, green-space, and room for some commercial development.