The Development Of Barbed Wire
Cotton, Cattle & Railroad
What Is Barbed Wire?
Barbed wire was invented by Joseph F. Glidden in 1874. Barbed wire is a type of fencing material. It replaced osage orange a certain type of thorn bush. Barbed wire is a wire with sharp spikes at the end of it. Barbed wire is usually used to make fences. This type of fence was used to protect crops form cattle. Barbed wire led to the expansion of the Texas Frontier.
The Problem
In the 1870's cattle was a big problem. Crops were being destroyed and live stock were going onto other peoples land. This was a big problem in the frontier. That was where barbed wire came into play.
How Did Barbed Wire Expand The Texas Frontier?
How Did Barbed Wire Expand The Texas Frontier? Barbed Wire changed the land use of Texas. Since barbed wire was cheap small farmers could afford to buy barbed wire and fence their crops to stop cattle from grazing their fields. The use of barbed wire stopped open range grazing. Controlled livestock breeding was made possible because of cattle being fenced in and barbed wire even contributed to the end of native american raids