![]() He received a second patent for reaper improvements on January 31, 1845.Īs word spread about the reaper, McCormick noticed orders arriving from farther west, where farms tended to be larger and the land flatter. They were all built manually in the family farm shop. He finally sold seven reapers in 1842, 29 in 1843, and 50 in 1844. Using the endorsement of his father's first customer for a machine built by McPhetrich, Cyrus continuously attempted to improve the design. He did sell one in 1840, but none for 1841. ![]() In 1839 McCormick started doing more public demonstrations of the reaper, but local farmers still thought the machine was unreliable. The panic of 1837 almost caused the family to go into bankruptcy when a partner pulled out. The McCormick family also worked together in a blacksmith/metal smelting business. However, none were sold, because the machine could not handle varying conditions. The young McCormick was granted a patent on the reaper on June 21, 1834, two years after having been granted a patent for a self-sharpening plow. He claimed to have developed a final version of the reaper in 18 months. The McCormick design was pulled by horses and cut the grain to one side of the team.Ĭyrus McCormick held one of his first demonstrations of mechanical reaping at the nearby village of Steeles Tavern, Virginia in 1831. A few machines based on a design of Patrick Bell of Scotland (which had not been patented) were available in the United States in these years. He was aided by Jo Anderson, an enslaved African American on the McCormick plantation at the time. He worked for 28 years on a horse-drawn mechanical reaper to harvest grain however, he was never able to reproduce a reliable version.Ĭyrus took up the project. As Cyrus' father saw the potential of the design for a mechanical reaper, he applied for a patent to claim it as his own invention. He was the eldest of eight children born to inventor Robert McCormick Jr. It does not store any personal data.Cyrus McCormick was born on Februin the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". ![]() These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. How did the mechanical reaper change farming? Farmers could now process more wheat much quicker and with less labor force. This machine proved to be the answer for wheat farmers because it increased food production as well as made harvesting easier. The mechanical reaper was used by farmers to harvest crops mechanically. (aged 82) Red Cliff in Moline, Illinois, US This new invention allowed wheat to be harvested quicker and with less labor force. The McCormick mechanical reaper replaced the manual cutting of the crop with scythes and sickles. This machine was used by farmers to harvest crops mechanically. ![]() It worked in this way: a straight blade (protected by guards) was linked to a drive wheel as the drive wheel turned, the blade moved back and forth in a sawing motion, cutting through the stalks of grain, which were held straight by rods the cut grain stalks then fell onto a platform and were collected with a rake by …
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