Frederick Snare Sr. (c. 1860–September 22, 1943) was an American engineer, contractor, and international builder whose career spanned the United States, Cuba, and South America during the era of rapid industrial expansion and American overseas influence. As founder and longtime leader of the Frederick Snare Corporation, he played a central role in shaping modern infrastructure in Havana while also contributing to some of New York City’s most significant public works.

Born in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, Snare entered the construction and engineering field at a moment when steel construction, reinforced concrete, and large-scale civil engineering were transforming urban landscapes. In 1898, he partnered with civil engineer Wolfgang Gustav Triest to establish the Snare & Triest Company, which was incorporated in 1900 with Snare serving as president. The firm quickly gained a reputation for managing complex engineering projects, including bridge foundations, transportation terminals, power facilities, and heavy industrial construction.

Snare’s career soon assumed an international dimension. He relocated much of his professional life to Cuba, arriving there in the late nineteenth century and remaining closely connected to the country for more than four decades. Under his leadership, the company established a major Cuban headquarters and became deeply involved in Havana’s modernization. Its projects included highways, railways, streetcar systems, electrical substations, sugar mills, and major transportation infrastructure, most notably the construction of Havana’s main railway terminal in 1912. These works placed the firm at the center of Cuba’s early twentieth-century economic transformation.

In recognition of his influence, Snare was decorated twice by the Cuban government for his contributions to economic development and for fostering social and cultural ties between Cuba and the United States. Among residents of Havana, he was known affectionately as “Father,” reflecting both his prominence and his long-standing presence in civic life. In later years, he made his home at La Residencia, adjoining the Country Club of Havana, which he founded in 1911 and served as president until his death.

While maintaining strong ties to Cuba, Snare remained deeply embedded in the engineering and business world of the northeastern United States. The Frederick Snare Corporation maintained offices in New York and Philadelphia and completed major public works projects including the Triborough Bridge, Whitestone Bridge, West Side Highway, East River Drive, Chelsea Piers, and the Outerbridge Crossing and Goethals Bridge connecting Staten Island and Manhattan. The firm was also extensively engaged in wartime construction during both World War I and World War II, including naval infrastructure projects such as work at Guantánamo Bay.

Snare’s position within elite transnational business circles was reinforced through his family’s social and residential ties, including connections to Englewood, New Jersey, where members of the Snare family later resided. His son, Frederick Snare Jr., worked closely with his father in the engineering firm of Snare & Triest and went on to become an executive of the company. In May 1914, Frederick Jr. married Edith Rutledge Dulles at New York’s Hotel Gotham, a society wedding that reflected the family’s standing within prominent industrial and professional networks. Through this marriage, the Snare family was linked to influential corporate, religious, and diplomatic lineages: Edith Dulles was the daughter of William Dulles, a senior executive of the Mississippi Glass Company, and the granddaughter of the Reverend John Welsh Dulles of Philadelphia. She was also a cousin of John Foster Dulles and Allen Dulles, figures who would later play central roles in U.S. foreign policy and intelligence during the Cold War. Contemporary accounts noted Frederick Jr.’s active role in the family firm at the time of the marriage, underscoring the intergenerational character of Snare’s enterprise and its embeddedness within the social geography of New York, Havana, and northern New Jersey.

Following the dissolution of the Snare & Triest partnership in the early 1920s, the firm continued as the Frederick Snare Corporation, with Snare serving as chairman after stepping down as president in 1927. His son later became secretary-treasurer of the company but predeceased his father in 1942.

Beyond engineering, Snare was also an accomplished sportsman. An avid golfer, he served as captain of the United States Senior Golf Association team and won the U.S. Senior Golf Championship twice, in 1922 and 1925.

Frederick Snare Sr. died in Havana following a brief illness at the age of 83. He was survived by two daughters, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. His legacy endures in the built environments of Havana and New York City, where bridges, roadways, terminals, and public works continue to reflect the reach of early twentieth-century American engineering and overseas construction enterprise.

"Frederick Snare, Bridge Builder, 83 Founder of Contracting Firm Dies-Former Senior Golf Leader, Honored by Cuba." New York Times, September 23, 1946.

"Snare Dulles Wedding Today." New York Tribune, May 31, 1916.

"Snare Provided for his Ex-Wife." The Record, December 12, 1942.