Board Roofing. (open access)

Board Roofing.

Patent for a new design of roofing board. The wooden boards are designed to "contract and expand with changes of temperature" (para. 3) and to allow rain to run off without seeping into the joints of the boards.
Date: December 19, 1876
Creator: Zimmerman, Arnold W.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Improvement in Double-Bitted Drills. (open access)

Improvement in Double-Bitted Drills.

Patent for "an easy mode of straightening wells while drilling them through rock or earth, and also for enlarging the same into a cistern when it is desired to keep on hand a large supply of water." (Lines 8-13) Includes instructions and illustrations.
Date: May 30, 1876
Creator: Yarbrough, William H.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Improvement in Earth-Boring Apparatus. (open access)

Improvement in Earth-Boring Apparatus.

Patent for improvement in well-boring machines in which it can be “rapidly bore through earth or rock holes of any desired size or depth, for the purpose of procuring water.” (P. 1, lines 9-12) Illustration is included.
Date: November 21, 1876
Creator: Yarborough, William H.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Improvement in Churns. (open access)

Improvement in Churns.

Patent for the improved design of churns "in which the dasher-shaft is vertical and receives rotation by gearing at the top of the churn" (2nd para.), including illustrations.
Date: January 25, 1876
Creator: Davis, Henry T.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Improvement in Bee-Hives (open access)

Improvement in Bee-Hives

Patent for an improved design for bee-hives with the sloped V shaped interior designed to aid in warmth for the hive and reducing debris entering the comb. Illustrations included show several cross-sections of the hive construction.
Date: December 12, 1876
Creator: Snider, George W.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Improvement in Rerigerator-Cars. (open access)

Improvement in Rerigerator-Cars.

Patent for "improvements in refrigerator-cars for preserving fresh meats, vegetables, and other perishable articles while transporting them over great distance; and it consists of an ice-receptacle at the top of the car, provided with flat top and carved or inclined bottom." (Lines 13-19) Includes instructions and illustrations.
Date: January 18, 1876
Creator: Zimmerman, Arnold W.
System: The Portal to Texas History