Resource Type

Cattle-Guard. (open access)

Cattle-Guard.

Patent for a cattle guard that prevents cattle from blocking railroad tracks. It consists of sharp edged cross ties that sit on the bottom of a shallow pit, guard rails that cover the cross ties, bolts that hold the rails together, and end planks forming v-shaped serrations.
Date: October 10, 1893
Creator: Lynch, Michael L.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Hitching Device. (open access)

Hitching Device.

Patent for a simple and inexpensive hitching device that can be easily applied to the driver, can connect a weight to the draft animal's bit, and can be easily adjusted.
Date: October 3, 1893
Creator: Crowley, Joseph L.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Envelope. (open access)

Envelope.

Patent for an improved, simple, and durable envelope that can hold many letters, documents, and similar materials. "The invention consists of two overlapping end flaps connected with each other by a band and forming, with the front, an expansible pocket for the accommodation of the documents, a top flap and a bottom flap adapted to be folded one above the other, and both over the end flaps, and a band for holding the top and bottom flaps closed" (lines 12-19).
Date: October 10, 1893
Creator: Scougale, Malcolm
System: The Portal to Texas History