Allis' Buckthorn Barbed Wire, 1881-1900

Inventors received hundreds of patents for barbed wire during the late 1800s. Some innovators created strands of fencing with sharp metal points cut into the wire; others incorporated small wire spurs twisted and attached to the wire to create a painful barrier. Each inventor believed their variation made the best fencing to keep livestock out of crop fields or confine them to pastures.