Barbed wire derived from an improvement Michael Kelly made to early wire fences. He twisted two wires together to form a cable for barbs – the first of its kind. Known as the “thorny fence,” Michael Kelly’s double-strand design made fences stronger, and the painful barbs made cattle keep their distance. In 1873 and 1874, patents were issued for various designs to compete against Michael Kelly's invention. The recognized winner was Joseph Glidden, whose design made barbed wire more effective. His U.S.
patent was issued on November 24, 1874 and is currently prevailing in sales. For this reason, he is quickly becoming known as “King of the Barb.”
Barbed wire is playing an important role in the protection of crops from livestock and the protection of range rights and land claims. It is important to frontier life in the way that it does not limit farming and ranching practices and increase settlement rate in an area. However, there are some issues to barbed wire that are causing conflict among the frontier. First of all, fencing cuts off
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Legislation for
Barbed Wire
An Editorial by Anh Nguyen
As westward expansion of the frontier continues to grow, demand for adequate fencing material to protect crops from livestock is increasing. There is a simple tool—the barbed wire—that is helping ranchers to tame the land. The swift emergence of this highly effective tool is dramatically changing life in the west as we know it! But for better or for worse? Well, let’s go back to the start with Michael Kelly.
HISTORY
ISSUES