John
Lane
The first
steel plow was built in 1833 in what is now known as Homer
Township. John Lane Sr., a village blacksmith, built the first
steel plow in a little pioneer blacksmith shop on a farm three
miles east of Lockport in a “Yankee Settlement.”
Born in Pittsford, N.Y., in 1793 , where he had
just completed his apprenticeship as a blacksmith before coming to
Illinois, Lane hung up his bellows on a tree and went to work at
his forge in the pioneer settlement until his shop was built out of
logs.
Lane conceived the first steel plow out of
necessity since he found cleaning his old wooden and cast iron
moldboard plows with wooden paddles, an unceasing, arduous task. At
best, cutting through the stocky, sticky prairie soil with a plow
was a slow process. It became even more time consuming when the
heavy soil continuously clogged the moldboard
Lane was motivated to forge a steel plow which
he was certain would slide the prairie soil easily off the
moldboard as the steel part became polished with use. This
necessity mothered a new innovation which gave the pioneer planter
a fresh, new concept of agriculture.
However, his inception of the steel plow came at
a time when no steel was manufactured in the United States.
He obtained an old, worn out saw blade from
Colonel Sayre’s sawmill, west of Lockport. Lane cut the blade
into strips about three inches wide. Edges were forged together to
obtain the required width of the moldboard. Pieces were then
hammered into the proper shape and polished to a working condition.
After making several trials, Lane succeeded in manufacturing a plow
which proved to be a major improvement over those then in
use.
Levi Hartwell assisted Lane in the manufacture
of plows. All plows sold were tested in Lane’s farm fields to
determine the best working shape.
John Griswold of Lockport made the woodwork and
tongue for the first plow. He also made the woodwork for many other
of Lane’s plows.
One of the first plows made was sold to Comstock
Hanford of Lockport and the last known plow made was sold to John
D. Frazer.
Plows continued to be made by Lane for more than
a year before steel was manufactured wide enough to fit the plow
moldboards.
Old sawmill blades costing $1 a foot were used
by Lane in making the first 200 plows. The first steel plows made
with a plate large enough to fit the moldboard were made of cast
steel coming from Pittsburgh, Pa.
Demand for the steel plow soon became greater
than Lane and Hartwell could supply, and 10 markets reached around
the world. Factories had been established and shipments were made
to many distant points. About 100 plows were shipped to the Pacific
Coast by way of New York and the Cape of California in 1854. These
were the first steel plows ever to be used on the Pacific
Coast.
Lane formed a partnership with Jasper D. Loomer,
and the company known as Lane and Loomer was widely known and
enjoyed a thriving business. In much of the early newspaper and
periodical advertising Lane’s plows were listed as
“Lockport Clippers,” “Lane’s Cast Steel
Plows” and the “Sod Breakers.”
Historical records show that much of the steel
used in the manufacture of the plows came from Germany. The German
steel was distributed by a Chicago hardware dealer and it was
hauled to Lockport and other manufacturing locations by ox
cart.
Lane was advised many times to record his plow
with the patent office, but he declined to do so. He explained that
his only desire was to benefit others with his ideas and asked for
no special recognition or remuneration.
John Lane Sr. became the famous blacksmith. He
was especially known as the maker of the prairie and the breaking
plows. Historians claim that settlers from miles around made
pilgrimages to this smith since nobody in all the land could shape
or temper a plow like him.
Drawn by from four to eight yoke of oxen and
steers, Lane’s plows upturned the sod on many an acre of
virgin prairie. Over the prairie swells with steady but ruthless
trend moved the long “breaking team” and on came the
giant plow, cutting the turf with its sharp colter and turning over
the rich earth in long, black ribbons with its mirror steel
moldboard. Before it, the blooming grass, fragrant herb and
flowers; behind it, a dreary waste of black, fat humus, inviting
the steps and stimulating the hopes of the sturdy planter.
Lane died Oct. 5, 1857, at the age of 65.
Hartwell continued to manufacture the plow and John Lane Jr., who
had learned the trade in his father’s shop, carried on the
manufacture in Lockport for many years. He became an inventor and
patented a number of important improvements in the manufacture of
plate steel for plows. The younger Lane gained some reputation with
the perfection of a mole trap which trapped and killed the
burrowing animal underground.
Been wanting to do this one for
some time now. Funny thing was, the monument disappeared while the
tollway was being built. They finally tracked it down. Concerned
citizen took it for safekeeping. Bless them. =)
OK, first off, the final is not located here. I wanted to heed the
no trespassing signs and make this an enjoyable trip for all. So to
plan your day, the final is located about a mile east of here in
Morris Park. With that, here are the details;
Count the number of words on the plaque (the year counts as a
word). Take that number (XX) and add it to the following coords for
the final...
41-35.460 87-59.404
+xx
+xx
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Add XX to last two digits as in example.
BYOP