Barbed wire was invented 125 years ago, in part, as the documentary tells it, ... but he did invent a wire stretcher that is considered a key to mass distribution of the product.

In 1876 salesman John W. Gates brought barbed wire to Texas when he wagered $1 million that he could build a fence that would capably contain cattle. Some incredulous gambler took the bet.

One day as I was driving from my home near Kraemer Lake, I noticed a small herd of cattle in a pasture fenced with barbed wire. It brought back memories. Wire had been a much-used commodity on our ...

The West’s enclosure via barbed wire had its victims. In 1947, historian Wayne Gard cataloged the resistance to barbed wire in Texas, which came from ranchers whose cattle couldn’t access ...

Barbed wire’s history has mostly been about control, possession and separation but there is one instance where barbed wire was used not to separate us, but to connect us.

An 18” piece of barbed wire that’s worth $600 (it features barbs in the shape of cockleburs). A Raven’s nest built primarily of barbed wire.

The first commercially successful barbed wire was patented by an American farmer on Nov. 24, 1874. Joseph Farwell Glidden invented the effective product.

For example, admission is free at the Barbed Wire Museum, but donations are encouraged. Before heading to a museum, be sure to check the hours and other information.

Today, an estimated 620,000 miles of fencing, most of it barbed wire, stretches across the rural West, and its toll on the region continues to mount.Animals that try to jump over or wiggle under ...