Joseph Glidden was a resident of DeKalb as early as 1850, and our beautiful town was the place where he patented the thing our town is known for – barbed wire.
DeKalb, originally Huntley’s Grove, was established in the 1850s, and officially became DeKalb in 1853 (named after an American Revolutionary War General). This was also the year our first railroad came to be as well – connecting DeKalb to the wider world.
During this time Joseph Glidden began work on ways to make a useful barbed wire to fence cattle, his best design being one that used a coffee mill to create the barbs. Placing these barbs along a wire, he then twisted another wire around it to keep the barbs in place – calling his design “The Winner”.
He and a local hardware dealer named Isaac Ellwood began manufacturing and selling the barbed wire with Glidden’s patent, as the Barb Fence Company. This was a short venture for Glidden, who retired in 1876 by selling his half of the business to Washburn and Moen. This company eventually went along to become American Steel and Wire, and was purchased by the U.S. Steel Manufacturing Company.
It’s estimated that Glidden received over $1,000,000 in royalties before his patent expired in 1892.
Many of the streets and landmarks in our beautiful town are named after the Glidden Family and those who they influenced – including Annie Glidden Road (named after his niece, Annie), Ellwood House (Isaac Ellwood also played a huge role in NIUs history, being a part of their board of Trustees) and so many more!
Correction: we had mistakenly listed Annie Glidden as Joseph Glidden’s daughter when she was his niece.
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