Implements and Machines

Barbed Wire

Citation Formats

General Reference

Agriculture and Farming Atlas. "Barbed Wire." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://agriculture.interactiveatlas.org/implements/barbed-wire.

APA Style

Agriculture and Farming Atlas. (n.d.). Barbed Wire. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://agriculture.interactiveatlas.org/implements/barbed-wire

BibTeX

@misc{agricultureandfarmingatlas-barbed-wire,
  author = {Agriculture and Farming Atlas},
  title = {Barbed Wire},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://agriculture.interactiveatlas.org/implements/barbed-wire},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

Steel fencing wire with sharp points twisted in at intervals, the cheapest fence ever invented. Joseph Glidden of DeKalb, Illinois patented the successful design in 1874, and it enclosed the American Great Plains within a generation: fencing that had cost timber and stone now cost wire, large livestock operations became workable with little labor, and the open range ended. A tool this simple redrew property, ranching and the map of the West.

Facts

Introduced Year

1874 1

Joseph Glidden's patent; earlier barbed designs existed without commercial success.

Origin

Patented in its successful form by Joseph Glidden of DeKalb, Illinois in 1874; credited by historians with ending open-range ranching on the Great Plains. 1

Cross-Tradition Connections