A Road Scholar program by Jerry Brauer

“Fencing Frontiers: The Barbed Wire Story” will tell the story of the search for an improved method of fencing following the Civil War and the invention the first practical barbed wire by a trio of DeKalb merchants and farmers in the 1870s. The rapid growth of the barbed wire industry through colorful advertising, litigation and “patent” wars, as well as the evocative story of cattle drive and the end of the open range will be examined in this slide presentation based on the unique collections of the Ellwood House Museum.

For more information contact Ann Powell, 815.633.4247 ext 18.