the reaper was invented by cyrus mccormick in 1837.
the reaper was invented by cyrus mccormick in 1837.
when was the reaper invented by cyrus mccormick?
1837
the mccormick family also worked together in a blacksmith/metal smelting business. the panic of 1837 almost caused the family to go into bankruptcy when a partner pulled out. in 1839 mccormick started doing more public demonstrations of the reaper, but local farmers still thought the machine was unreliable. he did sell one in 1840, but none for 1841.
cyrus mccormick
after his father's death, cyrus mccormick moved his base of operations from rockbridge county, virginia to chicago, illinois in 1847 because of the fertile prairie soil in the midwestern united states. in 1859, cyrus was joined by his brothers leander james mccormick and william sanderson mccormick to form the company cyrus h. mccormick and brothers. by the end of the 19th century, mccormick's company had built a primitive combine, which could harvest grain even faster and cheaper than older reapers. prior to inventing the reaper, farmers could only harvest a day; after the reaper was invented, farmers could harvest a day using less manual labor. the mechanical reaper did not require a family to toil all day to harvest crops. instead, a single farmer merely operated the machine and the reaper would do the rest of the work. his work in mechanical reapers and harvesting techniques allowed farmers to cultivate plots of land bigger than ever thought possible.
cyrus mccormick farm