7. A museum presenting the history of barbed wire
Who knew collecting barbed wire is a widespread hobby, particularly in the American West? The City of Lacrosse, Kansas, calls itself the “Barbed Wire Capital of the World”. It is home to the Kansas Barbed Wire Museum, which houses more than 2,000 types of barbed wire and associated paraphernalia. It also champions the role of barbed wire in the settlement of the American West, hosts and participates in swap meets held by private collectors of barbed wire, and houses the Antique Barbed Wire Society. Exhibits trace the development of barbed wire, its manufacture, and the techniques required by those who needed to mend fences. There are also exhibits which explain the importance of barbed wire (sometimes called bobbed wire) in settling the west, and the problems it both solved and to some extent caused.
Barbed wire secured the homesteads of settlers from free-ranging cattle and bison, which led to territorial disputes with the cattle barons. It also secured the railroad right of way from trespassing animals. It became an item often stolen, as it was easier to steal it from the railroads, since it couldn’t be differentiated one from another. That led to manufacturers developing different designs and shapes of the wound wires, called winners. So many different designs and patterns came into existence that the Kansas Barbed Wire Museum displays over 2,100 samples for barbed wire fans to enthuse over. The Antique Barbed Wire Society, housed in the museum, claims it is the only international society dedicated to barbed wire in the world. Somehow, one is not particularly surprised.