Dumbwaiters are special freight elevators that are used to carry goods and supplies between floors. They are not rated to carry people, but some commercial dumbwaiters are able to support over 1000 pounds. Dumbwaiters can be found in many homes today and they have been used by mankind for many hundreds of years.

Frequently dumbwaiters were used in castles to transport food from the kitchen up to the dining room. This ensured that the king would be able to eat his food while it was still warm. They were of course also used to transport bedding and other supplies throughout the castle.

After the medieval times, dumbwaiters remained more popular than ever. They were found in many homes and mansions across Europe and the United States. Thomas Jefferson, one of our founding fathers and the third president of the United States, is often considered as a very intelligent and creative inventor.  In his home in Virginia he used a dumbwaiter to transport wine from his cellar into his sitting room. This dumbwaiter was mounted near his fireplace and can still be seen at Monticello, his mansion atop a mountain in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Dumbwaiters were also often found in apartment buildings during the early nineteen-hundreds and have been used in commercial settings for many years. Libraries also extensively have relied on dumbwaiters to move books and 101 year old Brooklyn Public Library still uses their vintage dumbwaiter to move books between floors.

Dumbwaiters have come a long way and now most dumbwaiters use electric motors to effortlessly lift the unit at speeds of about 20 feet per minute. Almost all dumbwaiters also now use a track system, which makes the device much more stable and increases safety.