One hundred and fifty years ago, a DeKalb farmer created a legacy in DeKalb. His original home is still in place, but most people don’t realize what it is.
Joseph F. Glidden Homestead and Historical Center is located at 921 W. Lincoln Highway.
Joseph F. Glidden patented his barbed wire design in 1874. This was one year after he created it.
Jessi LaRue is the executive director of the Homestead. She said the creation of Glidden’s barbed wire started with hairpins. Tools that his wife Lucinda thought their daughter had taken.
“And one night at dinner, Joseph actually pulls them out of his pocket,” she said, “And he's playing with them and twisting them — creating what would become barbed wire.”
His designs are the most popular used barbed wire in the United States.
The Homestead includes a welcome center, museum, garden, barn and the original home that was built in 1861. The home’s basement is the exhibit area. There is also an area dedicated to shaping steel.
Marty O’Connor stood over a smoldering fire molding what would later become a tiny turtle. O’Connor is a blacksmith who volunteers at the Center. He picked up the skill about 12 years ago. He’s a trained automotive technician and said he always liked to work with his hands. O’Connor learned the new trade by watching other blacksmiths and YouTube videos. The structure where he’s working has a huge opening that allows air to come in. A blower is used to make sure the air gets into the furnace.
“The oxygen obviously accelerates the flame bringing fresh air in from over here,” he said. “And the brighter the metal gets, the closer it is to welding temperature which would be even brighter than the brightest yellow in this chart.”
It wasn’t too cold that day, but O’Connor said when cold weather is extreme, they aren’t able to work.
O’Connor demonstrates blacksmithing to DeKalb second graders who come to the Homestead for field trips. He said most of the children want to make swords. He simply explains to them that making weapons is not an option. Instead, they make things like seahorses and bottle openers.
LaRue said it’s important for the children to learn about what happened here.
“This is a part of their heritage. You know, they're going to go to high school and be the DeKalb Barbs,” she added. “Well, what where does that come from? And just learning about Joseph Glidden is the man who donated the hospital, he donated the land for what would become Northern Illinois University.”
LaRue explained that although the area symbolizes a huge achievement for Glidden most people don’t know about the Homestead.
“One of the big hurdles is our visibility. Just you know, this is a house that's been here since 1861," LaRue said," and people drive by Lincoln highway every day, but they don't know that we're set back from the road. So, we're trying to host more programs and events and working on our social media presence.”
LaRue said the Homestead will celebrate the creation and patent of Glidden’s barbed wire through fundraising and other programs. These celebrations will take place over the next couple of years.
- Yvonne Boose is a current corps member for Report for America, an initiative of the GroundTruth Project. It's a national service program that places talented journalists in local newsrooms like WNIJ. You can learn more about Report for America at wnij.org.
