Cyrus McCormick

A detailed Summary of Cyrus McCormick

Cyrus McCormick was born in 1809 at Willow Grove, the McCormick family

farm near Steeles Tavern, Va. The farm operated a sawmill, a cider mill, a distillery, two

grain mills and a smokehouse. Cyrus McCormick's father, Robert, had worked on a

horse-drawn reaper off and on from 1815, but was never able to get his designs to work

In 1831, Robert McCormick abandoned his efforts to perfect his reaper. Working

in the farm's blacksmith shop, his 22-year-old son, Cyrus, took up the challenge of the

reaper. He took his father's design as a starting point and added several new features.

Within six weeks, they had built a successful demonstration model of the reaper and

conducted a public trial of the machine at Walnut Grove.

The reaper used a reciprocating knife, much like today's sickle bar mower, to cut

the grain. Metal fingers guided the stalks into the knife and a revolving reel pushed the

grain into the knife for a clean cut. A master wheel which carried most of the weight of

the machine rolled on the ground and drove the knife through gears and linkages. The cut

grain fell onto a platform behind the knife where it was raked off into windrows or piles.

A horse pulled the machine through the field. With

and singer. When she rose to speak, wrote one observer, "her commanding figure and

acre, the reaper could be returned for a refund. McCormick's use of advertising and his

began offering the reaper for sale. Sales were slow at first; farmers had been harvesting

Truth moved to Michigan in 1857 and continued her advocacy. After the

flow in. The demand for the reaper quickly exceeded the capacity of the blacksmith shop

The reaper was such an advantage over the cradle and sickle, that orders began to

Approximate Word count = 1439
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History

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