Ellwood House, a grand Victorian mansion, is located in a lovely park in the heart of DeKalb, Illinois. Inside, crystal chandeliers sparkle, gilt mirrors shine, and antique woodwork gleams. A visit to this elegant home brings the past to life! Built by barbed wire millionaire Isaac L. Ellwood in 1879, the mansion remains with its original furnishings just as when the Ellwood family lived there decades ago. Experience a by-gone era as you tour the great English living room with its vast stone fireplace, the mahogany-panelled dining room, and the magnificent rotunda with a three-story spiral staircase. The many restored bedrooms, servants rooms, and service areas provide a glimpse of a complete household at the turn of t he twentieth century.

http://www.ellwoodhouse.org/index.php

Ellwood House Museum 509 North First Street DeKalb, IL 60115

A Barbed wire Hat at the Museum of Barbedwire

THE LARGEST BARBED WIRE HISTORIC MUSEUM IN THE WORLD!

Devil's Rope Museum designed for students, teachers, historians and collectors who need informaiton about barbed wire history and collecting.

http://www.barbwiremuseum.com/index.htm

Devil's Rope Museum 100 Kingsley Street P.O . Box 290 McLean, Texas 79057

Life in the American West was reshaped by a series of patents for a simple tool - barbed wire - that helped ranchers tame the land. Patents for improvements to wire fencing were granted by the U.S. Patent Office, beginning with Michael Kelly in November 1868 and ending with Joseph Glidden in November 1874, that shape the history of this tool.

Before barbed wire, the lack of effective fencing limited farming and ranching practices, and the number of people who could settle in an area. The new fencing changed the West from vast and undefined prairies/plains to a land of farming, and widespread settlement.

At the county fair in DeKalb, Illinois in 1873, Henry M. Rose had on exhibit a new idea in fencing. It was a wooden rail with a series of sharp spikes protruding from the sides of the rail. The fence rail, patented earlier that year on May 13, was designed to be attached to an existing fence to "prick" an animal when it came into contact with the rail and keep livestock from breaking through.

The Kansas Barbed Wire Museum

The museum displays over 2000 varieties of barbed wire, each unique. In addition, displays of the tools and equipment used in fencing illustrate the inventiveness of pioneers and those with an eye for business in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

http://www.rushcounty.org/BarbedWireMuseum/index.html

The Kansas Barbed Wire Museum, 120 W. 1st Street, LaCrosse, KS, 67548 Phone 785-222-9900.