An Archaeological Survey Within the Proposed Thompson Springs Park, Fairview, Texas (open access)

An Archaeological Survey Within the Proposed Thompson Springs Park, Fairview, Texas

Archaeological survey results regarding proposed Thompson Springs Park in Collin County in terms of finding archaeological sites or cultural materials.
Date: 2005
Creator: AR Consultants
Object Type: Report
System: The Portal to Texas History
Stalk-Chopper (open access)

Stalk-Chopper

Patent for a stalk chopper that chops weeds, vines, and stalks into smaller pieces or kills them in order for the ground beneath to be readily cultivated.
Date: September 30, 1902
Creator: Adamson, William Levi
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Fuse Block (open access)

Fuse Block

Patent for improvements to Patent No. 1113528. Invention provides a fuse block where the fuses can be replaced by a lineman without being in close proximity to the primary circuit wires. Invention also allows various types of fuses to be used.
Date: May 3, 1921
Creator: Anderson, Lou Belle
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Washboard (open access)

Washboard

Patent for an improved washboard, that will be "simple, inexpensive, and efficient" while allowing water to fully drain from it after washing is finished, including illustrations.
Date: July 17, 1900
Creator: Bailey, Robert E.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Plow. (open access)

Plow.

Patent for an improvement in plows by using a series of spring-tines that are secured above the mold-board, when in operation these independently-moving tines “serve to jar and break the clods, thus not only pulverizing the clods to a certain degree but also insuring the freeing of the tines of all dirt” (lines 90-93), including illustration.
Date: March 3, 1891
Creator: Ball, Alfred Fine
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Display Advertising-Machine. (open access)

Display Advertising-Machine.

Patent for an advertising display that carries a number of large advertisement sheets that are revolved and held stationary to periodically display each advertisement in repeating succession.
Date: October 9, 1917
Creator: Barnett, John B.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Soil survey of Collin County, Texas (open access)

Soil survey of Collin County, Texas

Text describes climate, agricultural history, soils, and crops of Collin County, Texas.
Date: 1935
Creator: Beck, M. W. (Miles Walter); Fitzpatrick, E.G. (Elmer Grant) & Ragsdale, L. G.
Object Type: Book
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton-Picking Machine. (open access)

Cotton-Picking Machine.

Patent for a cotton-picking machine that arranges the picking elements at different elevations and spaces them apart "so that while several plants will be picked at the same time, only one portion of a plant will be worked on at a time," (lines 14-17), minimizing disturbance of the plant.
Date: June 28, 1921
Creator: Becknell, George T.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Gin Attachment for Bolly Cotton (open access)

Gin Attachment for Bolly Cotton

Patent for gin attachment for bolly cotton. This seeks to make the gin stands have automatic control and for disposing of hulls and waste products from the gin.
Date: October 9, 1917
Creator: Becknell, George T.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Improvement in Compound Engines. (open access)

Improvement in Compound Engines.

Patent for "a series of engines for working the steam over by exhausting it from the first into the second, and so on, for utilizing the pressure lost when steam is exhausted from a single engine into the air..." (lines 7-11) including instructions and illustrations.
Date: February 16, 1875
Creator: Bell, Jackson W.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Loose Leaf Binder (open access)

Loose Leaf Binder

Patent for a loose leaf binder. The invention consists of two adjustable sections in order to lengthen or shorten the post. Illustration included.
Date: January 28, 1913
Creator: Bickley, William P.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Draft Equalizer. (open access)

Draft Equalizer.

Patent for improvement to draft-equalizers.
Date: April 17, 1900
Creator: Billington, Wesley E.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Ink Fountain for Printing Machines. (open access)

Ink Fountain for Printing Machines.

Patent for a new and improved ink fountain for printing machines. This design consists in "[t]he combination of the shell-shaped frame having an inclined bottom, a hole in the lower part of the front end wall, and a socket provided with a thumb-screw, a vertical arm passing through the said socket and provided with a clamp at its lower end, a roller for distributing ink, journaled at the front of the shell and vertically adjustable therewith, and the removable reservoir having a gate, an inclined bottom, and an opening corresponding with the hole in the shell" (lines 17-27).
Date: September 29, 1885
Creator: Bomar, Thomas E.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Wire Stretcher (open access)

Wire Stretcher

Patent for a wire stretchers. Illustration included.
Date: December 18, 1906
Creator: Bradshaw, Richard A.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Harness. (open access)

Harness.

Patent for a new, reinforced harness made of rubber, a metal chain, and leather, including illustrations.
Date: May 7, 1918
Creator: Brecheen, Samuel H.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Leveling Device for Traction Engines (open access)

Leveling Device for Traction Engines

Patent for a leveling device for traction engines. Illustrations included.
Date: January 10, 1911
Creator: Brown, Daniel T.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Grinding Attachment (open access)

Grinding Attachment

Patent for a grinding attachment. This attachment is a grindstone that is turned via the hand-car. Illustrations included.
Date: April 12, 1904
Creator: Brown, Mik
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Compress. (open access)

Compress.

Patent for "surgical instruments which are used for stopping the flow of blood during an amputation or other similar operation." (Lines 12-15) Includes instructions and illustrations.
Date: January 12, 1897
Creator: Burton, Edwin L.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Fence Post (open access)

Fence Post

Patent for a fence post for use with line wires. Illustration included.
Date: December 25, 1906
Creator: Bury, Thomas J.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Grain-Scale. (open access)

Grain-Scale.

Patent for “improvements in grain-scales, especially adapted for location at the rear end of a trashing-machine and for receiving therefrom the thrashed grain, weighing and subsequently bagging the same in predetermined quantities” (lines 7-12), includes illustration.
Date: March 17, 1891
Creator: Butts, Alexander W.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Railroad-Spike. (open access)

Railroad-Spike.

Patent for a railroad spike, which is securely anchored in the tracks.
Date: September 14, 1909
Creator: Butts, Carl K.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Rotary Engine. (open access)

Rotary Engine.

Patent for a simplified rotary engine which uses steam, compressed air and other elastic fluids which act as motive fluid. This patent is special in that it is light and compact. This patent helps the engine start easily, reverse, and stop, as well as other types of motion.
Date: January 8, 1919
Creator: Campbell, William L.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Device for Making Vessels Invisible. (open access)

Device for Making Vessels Invisible.

Patent for improvements in "air and water craft" (line 13) invisible including illustrations. These improvements include invisibility through "plurality of plates or sections" (lines 18-19) and diffuse light, disguising the vessels.
Date: July 15, 1919
Creator: Chaddick, Mark
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Gate Latch. (open access)

Gate Latch.

Patent for a new and improved gate-latch. This design consists "[i]n a latch, the combination of the case having at its lower end a guide ledge or flange with its bearing face arranged laterally in from the inner face of the side plate of the case, a loosely suspended ring held and movable against the said ledge or flange, and means whereby the said ring may be operated" (lines 5-11).
Date: August 7, 1888
Creator: Charleville, George W.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History