#Barbed wire series#
#Barbed wire free#

Michael Kelly made a significant improvement to wire fencing with an invention that 'twisted two wires together to form a cable for barbs-the first of its kind in America,' according to Henry D. Wire fences used before the invention of the barb consisted of only one strand of wire, which was constantly broken by the weight of cattle pressing against it. The appearance of barbed wire meant the end of both the open range and the freedom of the rancher and cowboy, an event lamented in the Cole Porter song 'Don't Fence Me In.' Once a year, cattle owners, unhindered by fenced property lines, led their herds on long cattle drives, eventually arriving at slaughter-houses located near urban railheads for shipping convenience. Where working farms existed, most property was unfenced and open to foraging cattle and sheep. Without fencing, livestock grazed freely, competing for fodder and water.

Barbed wire was cheaper, easier, and quicker to use than any of these other alternatives. Shrubs and hedges, early substitutes for wood and rock fencing materials, took too long to grow to become of much use in the rapidly expanding West. Likewise, rocks for stone walls-commonly found in New England-were scarce on the plains. Lumber was in such short supply in the region that farmers were forced to build houses of sod. Wooden fences were costly and difficult to acquire on the prairie and plains, where few trees grew. Today, cowboy ballads remain as nostalgic reminders of life before barbed wire became an accepted symbol of control, transforming space to place and giving new meaning to private property.īefore the invention of barbed wire, the lack of effective fencing limited the range of farming and ranching practices, and with it, the number of people who could settle in an area.

#Barbed wire free#

As the use of barbed wire increased, wide open spaces became less wide, less open, and less spacious, and the days of the free roaming cowboy were numbered.

Vast and undefined prairies and plains yielded to range management, farming, and ultimately, widespread settlement. The swift emergence of this highly effective tool as the favored fencing method influenced life in the region as dramatically as the rifle, six-shooter, telegraph, windmill, and locomotive.īarbed wire was extensively adopted because it proved ideal for western conditions. Barbed wire not only simplified the work of the rancher and farmer, but it significantly affected political, social, and economic practices throughout the region. Patent Office to American inventors, beginning with Michael Kelly in November 1868 and ending with Joseph Glidden in November 1874. Nine patents for improvements to wire fencing were granted by the U.S.

#Barbed wire series#

Life in the American West was reshaped by a series of patents for a simple tool that helped ranchers tame the land: barbed wire. Glidden's Patent Application for Barbed Wire Background