History of the Garden Plow Patent

Hunter gatherer societies ruled the earth until the neolithic revolution occurred almost 12,000 years ago. During that period, agriculture was invented, creating a newly sustainable source of food for civilizations.

As farming became a more widespread practice, people needed faster and more efficient ways of cultivating the land. Initially, people used sticks to break up soil and plant crops, but soon animals would bear the brunt of this laborious task.

The domestication of oxen in Mesopotamia, occurring as long as 8,000 years ago, transferred this arduous task to animals. After discovering that oxen could pull much more weight than humans, primitive plows began to take shape. Early plows consisted of a large animal, a stick attached to the animal, and a knife at the end of the stick used to disrupt the soil. Soon, the wheel was invented in Mesopotamia, making plows much more efficient.

The hand held plow, the first plow invented, became much less important once animals were introduced into farming, but didn’t die. Over the years, as wheels were added (6,000 years ago) and steering was improved, they became more effective farming tools, but never rivaled that of animal plows.

Hand held plows ultimately became relegated to home gardens. Farmers would often run vegetable gardens outside of their main crops and hand held plows were, and still are, popular tools to loosen soil and spread roots. 

In 1877, Eugene Ruhlmann of Lockport New York was granted a patent for a new wheel-hoe design. His innovative design combined a weed cutter with a plow, perfect for its intended landscape, gardens.

Check out the patent