Cotton Chopper. (open access)

Cotton Chopper.

Patent for a new and improved cotton chopper. This design "relates to improvements in cotton-chopping machines in which revolving hoes are attached to plows; and the object of [the] improvement is to afford facilities for chopping out cotton by means of horse-power instead of by hand" (lines 8-13).
Date: May 13, 1890
Creator: Green, Frank
System: The Portal to Texas History
Fastener for Bedsteads. (open access)

Fastener for Bedsteads.

Patent for a new and improved fastener for bedsteads. This design consists in "[t]he combination, in a bedstead, of the head and foot board provided with inclined bores or holes, and slots extending from the bores or holes to the face of the boards, the side rails being provided with vertical bores or holes, and slots communicating with said bores or holes, and the locking plate adapted to connect the rails and head and foot boards and comprising the oppositely-disposed converging cylindrical beads and the integral web connecting the beads" (lines 78-88).
Date: May 13, 1890
Creator: Watson, Thomas H.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Sanitary Closet (open access)

Sanitary Closet

Patent for "improvements on sanitary closets for destroying the human excrement-s on the premises with little labor and expense" (lines 8-11).
Date: May 13, 1890
Creator: McCamant, Theodore F.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Washing-Machine (open access)

Washing-Machine

Patent for "improvements in the water-wheel and in the, mechanism for imparting motion thereto, whereby the washing-liquid is made to flow upward between the sides of an outer and inner pan and downward upon the articles to be washed, which are inclosed in the said inner pan, as will be now described and claimed, and is adapted to wash any articles that may be placed within the said inner pan" (lines 17-26).
Date: May 13, 1890
Creator: McCausland, William, I.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Well Lining. (open access)

Well Lining.

Patent for a new and improved well lining. This design "has for its object to provide a seamless lining extending from the bottom of the well to the surface of the ground and designed to exclude all foreign or impure substances from the well-water—such as pass through the cracks of the brick or stone lining now commonly employed—and also to exclude ants and other insects and prevent the damage frequently cause through this source" (lines 9-17).
Date: May 13, 1890
Creator: Blackmon, Albert
System: The Portal to Texas History