Martha Jackson wrote:
>I am also interested in receiving any references on this subject. Thanks
>in advance!
I had written a personal note to the first individual who inquired about
this, however seeing now that there is a wider audience, I will leave my
proverbial lurk and suggest the following information. For sake of clarity,
am I to assume that "Chicken Wire" is the tightly woven wire with octagon
holes (and not the "stock fence" that has larger gauge wire with larger
square hole?) In any event, the barb wire reference, while dated (1931),
is considered a classic concerning the peopling of the Great Plains by
Euroamericans in the nineteenth century. It has an extensive chapter,
entitled "Transportation and Fencing", and gives a number of primary
references by people who were a part of its development. Take a look at:
Webb, Walter Prescott
1981 THE GREAT PLAINS. University of Nebraska Press.
Lincoln.
Webb writes..."It may be asserted, with some qualification, that the inventor
of barbed wire was J.F.Glidden, a farmer of De Kalb, Illinois. Glidden made
his first barbed wire in 1873 and sold the first piece in 1874. Others had
invented and used it, but Glidden, we are told, gave it the final touch of
commercial practicability. Joseph Farwell Glidden was born in New Hampshire
on January 18,1813".
Pre-Glidden Patents include: A.Dabb, Elizabethport, N.J., April 2,1867;
L.B.Smith, Kent, Ohio, June 25,1867; W.D.Hunt, Scott, N.Y., July 23,1867;
M.Kelly, New York, N.Y., Feb.11,1868; L.P.Judson, Rose, N.Y., Aug.15,1871;
H.M.Rose, Waterman Station, Ill., May 13,1873; J.Haish, De Kalb, Ill.,
Feb.17,1874; I.Ellwood, De Kalb, Ill., Feb.24,1874; C.Kennedy, Hinckley, Ill.,
Aug.11,1874; L. and J. Merrill, Turkey River, Iowa, Sept.29,1874; J.F.Glidden,
De Kalb, Ill., Nov. 24,1874 (Webb 1931:300).
Webb argues, convincingly, that without the presence of barb wire (given
the lack of wood for hedges or post and rail fences), the farming of the
Plains would have never taken place. Cattle drivers certainly did not
have any interest in it, hence some of the range wars that erupted in the
1800's.
Another excellent primary reference on barb wire can be found in :
Washburn, Charles G.
1917 INDUSTRIAL WORCESTER. Davis Press, Worcester.
Additionally, the collection of barb wire as a hobby continues to be an
avid vocation of many folks in the Plains. There used to be, and may still
be, a monthly newletter directed at the dissemination of information
covering anything and everything concering barb wire. Many local museums,
on a county level, have extensive examples of barb wire too. The Harold
Krier Pioneer Museum in Ashland, Kansas [Clark County] has one of the
best (valued for insurance purposes at around $250,000.00). Also the
Harold Warp Pioneer Village (an absolute American Treasure) in Minden,
Nebraska has a large display of about every type of wire known to have
been created, including patent information and dates.
I am certain that there are more recent historical references concerning
the full treatment of barb wire. The two I mention are to be considered a
couple of the classics.
It would only be right to end this post with a couple common things heard
around this neck of the Plains...
They say that heaven is a free range land,
Goodbye, goodbye, O fare you well;
But it's barbed wire for the devil's hat band;
And barbed wire blankets down in hell.
and...
A Kansan love to tell you if something costs too much.
Copper wiring was invented by two Kansans fighting
over a penney.
All in jest, my Kansan friends. B.B.Bailey
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| Berkley B. Bailey ([log in to unmask]) |
| University of Oklahoma, Department of Anthropology |
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|