On the 15th
of March in 1898, Charles “Charlie” Wesley Fenton (1856–1922) of Pine Village,
Indiana, received a patent for his invention of metal fence posts for building
board fences such as were used on farms. Charlie was one of Thomas “Tom” or
“Tommy” Eleazer Fenton’s brothers; Tommy was the blacksmith who designed a
special shoe for a young colt who matured into arguably the first sports hero
in America: Dan Patch, the pacer who is even mentioned in the lyrics of a song
in The Music Man. Visit my Books from
the HeartLand website (http://roberttrhode.org/) to read more about Dan Patch and
to watch a short movie of the horse in action. One of Charlie and Tommy’s
sisters was my great grandmother, Magnolia “Nola” or “Nolia” Somerset (Fenton)
Cobb, a professional photographer whose glass-plate images I have often
included in my blogs and on my Facebook page. Her son, Charles “Charley” Albert
Cobb, designed and built a tractor from a hit and miss engine. Suffice it to
say that Charlie came from a family with a streak
for invention.
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|
Patent
for Fence Posts
By
Charles Wesley Fenton
Of
Pine Village, Indiana (1898)
|
Charlie
claimed for his fence posts “great strength, durability, and neatness.” His
posts were “preferably constructed of angle-iron bent in a U form at the top,” and
the flared feet were attached to metal plates. The feet and their plates were inserted
in holes that were “filled in [with soil] and rammed.” Boards were held firmly
by metal pins through their ends and were supported by brackets attached to the
posts. Studying the patent drawing gives a sufficient idea of the way that
Charlie’s invention helped in the construction of a board fence.
 |
| Charles Wesley Fenton |
I would
guess that Charlie’s posts were, in fact, “neat,” as they would grip the earth
and would be less subject to the upheavals of freezing and thawing that were
frequently visited upon posts made of wood. My research, though, has not
revealed a company manufacturing posts such as Charlie’s, and I have no way of
knowing if he ever sold any.
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| Charles Albert Cobb and the Tractor He Built from a Hit and Miss Engine |
James M.
Swadley and Harry F. Ross served as witnesses to Charlie’s patent.
 |
|
Another
View of Charley Cobb and His Tractor
With
Both Photographs Taken by His Mother
Magnolia
Somerset Cobb
|
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