Gate. (open access)

Gate.

Patent for a new and improved gate. This design "consists in the novel construction and arrangement of the posts, the latch-bar pivoted to the main rail by inclined braces and operated by a rock-shaft and push-arms inclined in a direction opposite to that of the inclined braces, weight-box, and cranks for operating the rock-shaft to open and close the gate" (lines 19-25).
Date: October 25, 1881
Creator: Smith, Robert B. & Curry, William
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton Chopper. (open access)

Cotton Chopper.

Patent for a new and improved cotton chopper. This design "consists, principally, in a cotton-chopper provided with a rolling support that is swiveled to the front end of the frame and trails behind such swiveled connection immediately in front of the cutting-blades . . . it consists, further, in the construction and combination of the various parts of the machine, whereby the same is enabled to operate across the row of cotton-plants" (lines 16-28).
Date: August 30, 1881
Creator: Wilder, Bert S.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Wire Stretcher. (open access)

Wire Stretcher.

Patent for a new and improved wire stretcher. This design "facilitate[s] the building of wire fences; and it consists in the construction and novel arrangement of the transporting bed or wagon, its spindles for the spools of wire, and its transverse windlass-rollers and their ratchets and pawls" (lines 16-21).
Date: August 2, 1881
Creator: Morter, John Letcher
System: The Portal to Texas History
Permutation Lock. (open access)

Permutation Lock.

Patent for a new and improved combination lock. This design consists of "[a] door having at its edges the sockets formed by ribs and mouths in combination with permutation-disks, seated in said sockets and handles" (lines 5-8).
Date: June 28, 1881
Creator: Sevier, Moses Nimrod
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton Elevator. (open access)

Cotton Elevator.

Patent for a new and improved cotton elevator. This design "facilitate[s] the delivery of cotton to the gin, and at the same time . . . removes from the cotton the gravel and other foreign substances that may be in it, thereby preventing injury to the gin and causing it to deliver the cotton in a cleaner and better condition" (lines 7-13).
Date: June 14, 1881
Creator: Newton, William Frederick
System: The Portal to Texas History
Insect Trap. (open access)

Insect Trap.

Patent for a new and improved ant trap. This design calls for a box to be placed over the mouth of an anthill, whereupon one expects the ants to enter a hole, climb an incline, and slip down a pair of glass pieces that lower the ants into an inescapable chamber. This design is cheaper and easier to make than previous ant traps.
Date: May 24, 1881
Creator: Blackwood, Curtis
System: The Portal to Texas History