Everett Horton Patents the Telescoping Fishing Rod (1887)

In puritanical rural Connecticut, fishing on Sunday was very nearly a mortal sin.  But Everett Horton, a hoop maker at a Bristol crinoline undergarment factory, wanted badly to fish on Sunday.  In order to slip unnoticed out of town and to the stream, he invented a telescoping fishing rod.  On March 8, 1887, he received a patent for his invention—US Patent 359153 A—and the rest is history.

1927 ad for Everett Horton’s Telescoping Fishing Rod

Horton’s patent application doesn’t mention that his purpose was to dupe his church-going neighbors.  Rather, it was to “produce a light and compact rod of superior convenience, elasticity, and durability, and one in which the line is protected against entanglement throughout the length of the rod.”  Unlike typical fishing rods, on which the exposed line is guided through rings mounted at intervals along the rod, Horton’s rod had hollow tubes that carried the line inside, protected from tangling.  Every angler of modest skill (like me) has experienced the recurring frustration of tangled lines.

Reportedly, Horton walked into a bank in Bristol the next year and asked to see the manager.  In the meeting, Horton produced the fishing rod from his pants leg, to the manager’s alarm.  When asked why he had made such a thing, Horton replied, “So you can sneak off fishing whenever you like, even on Sunday.”

He got the needed loan and went on to found the Horton Manufacturing Company.  And to make a fortune.  The fishing rod was instantly popular and by 1900 the Bristol Steel Rod was the most popular fishing rod in the United States.  The rod was well-made and performed its intended function—to hide an angler’s intention and keep the line straight—but angling purists didn’t like it (of course).  Nonetheless, Horton kept manufacturing his rods, eventually expanding the company into a producer of diverse metal household items.

The Pocket-Fisherman had to have an inspiration, and maybe we’ve just found it.

References:

Anctil, Philip.  (Nothing Up Your Sleeve) It May Be A Bristol Steel Rod.  Fishing Talks.  Available at:    http://www.fishingtalks.com/nothing-up-your-sleeve-it-may-be-a-bristol-steel-rod-569.html.  Accessed March 7, 2017.

New England Historical Society.  Everett Horton Goes Fishing for a Fortune.  Available at:  http://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/everett-horton-goes-fishing-fortune/.  Accessed March 7, 2017.

U.S. Patent Office.  Patent 359153 A.  Available at:  https://www.google.com/patents/US359153.  Accessed March 7, 2017.

This Month in Conservation

October 1
Yosemite National Park Created (1890)
October 2
San Diego Zoo Founded (1916)
October 3
James Herriot, English Veterinarian, Born (1916)
October 4
Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi, Patron Saint of Ecology
October 5
Catherine Cooper Hopley, British Herpetologist, Born (1817)
October 6
Mad Hatter’s Day
October 7
Henry A. Wallace, Secretary of Agriculture, Born (1888)
October 8
World Octopus Day
October 9
Vajont Dam Disaster (1963)
October 10
Dnieper Dam Began Operation (1932)
October 11
Big Cypress and Big Thicket National Preserves Created (1974)
October 12
William Laurance, Tropical Conservationist, Born (1957)
October 13
International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction
October 14
Timpanogos Cave National Monument Created (1922)
October 14
Dr. Mamie Parker, Pioneering African American Fisheries Scientist and Leader, Born (1957)
October 15
Isabella Bird, Pioneering Eco-traveler, Born (1831)
October 16
World Food Day
October 17
Oliver Rackham born (1939)
October 18
Clean Water Act established (1972)
October 19
Research Vessel Albatross Launched (1882)
October 20
OPEC Oil Embargo (1973)
October 21
“Ding” Darling born (1876)
October 22
Wombat Day
October 23
Cumberland Island National Seashore established (1972)
October 24
Antoni von Leeuwenhoek born (1632)
October 25
Secretary of the Interior Convicted in Teapot Dome Scandal (1929)
October 26
Erie Canal Opens (1825)
October 27
Golden Gate and Gateway National Recreation Areas Created (1972)
October 28
Henry Mosby, Wild Turkey Biologist, Born (1913)
October 28
First Ticker-tape Parade Held (1886)
October 29
Stanley Park, Vancouver, Dedicated (1889)
October 30
UNESCO Designates 9 Natural World Heritage Sites (1981)
October 31
Lincoln Highway Dedicated (1913)
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