J.F. Glidden Papers (DeKalb), 1869-1955 | Northern Illinois University

Joseph Farwell Glidden (1813-1906) was born in New York and spent much of his early life on several of his father’s farms. In 1842 Joseph and his brother, Josiah Willard, moved westward eventually reaching Mt. Morris, Illinois. In the winter of 1842-43, Joseph purchased 600 acres from his cousin near the village of DeKalb, Illinois, and this became the Glidden homestead.

Primarily interested in farming, Glidden spent the 1840’s-1860’s increasing his acreage and encouraging agricultural development. In 1851 he donated right of way privileges to the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad; in 1852 he was elected sheriff of DeKalb County; in 1863 and 1866 he was on the County Board of Supervisors.

Ending a long standing plague of the farmers, the free-ranging herd, Glidden perfected and patented a new, inexpensive barb wire fence in 1873. He formed a partnership with a local merchant, Issac Ellwood, and their business became an overnight success. Several years later Glidden sold his half of the business but not before becoming a wealthy man from his invention.

Glidden kept busy in the local community. In 1876 he built the Glidden house, a fancy hotel that featured shops on the main floor and rooms in the upper stories. In 1879, he and partner Clinton Rosette founded a newspaper, the DeKalb County Chronicle. In the early 1880’s he was a partner with Henry B. Sanborn in a 250,000 acre ranch and cattle raising venture in the Texas panhandle. In the late 1880’s he was head of several industrial mills in DeKalb. And in 1895, after the state legislature passed a bill creating a State Normal School at DeKalb, Glidden donated 64 acres of his land which formed the campus of the new school.

Inventor, farmer, businessman, community leader and politician, J.F. Glidden was a man of many talents. Although his interests helped found a university, start a newspaper, and run a hotel and a large Texas ranch, he is best remembered for his invention of barb wire. This latter invention deservedly gives Glidden a secure place in American history.