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73-491: FPC Alderson is in two West Virginia counties, near the town of Alderson . A portion of the prison is in unincorporated Monroe County , while the other portion of the prison, including the dormitories, is in unincorporated Summers County . The majority of the prison is in Summers County. Four other area towns, Hinton , Lewisburg , Ronceverte , and White Sulphur Springs , are within commuting distance of FPC Alderson. In

146-436: A braced line assembly is added in-line. This has the function of a corner post and brace assembly but handles tension from opposite sides. It uses diagonal brace wire that connects the tops to the bottoms of all adjacent posts. Line posts are installed along the span of the fence at intervals of 2.5 to 15 m (8 to 50 ft). An interval of 5 m (16 ft) is most common. Heavy livestock and crowded pasture demands

219-425: A horseshoe pattern on two-tiered slopes. The offenders were segregated by race in the cottages and each building contained a kitchen and rooms for about 30 women. While there is no barbed wire on the fence surrounding the camp, the prisoners have schedules and each one must work. Inmates get holidays off except those who work in the powerhouse and kitchen. From its beginning, Alderson's staff members have maintained

292-468: A barbed wire fence. Within 2 years, nearly all of the open range had been fenced in under private ownership. For this reason, some historians have dated the end of the Old West era of American history to the invention and subsequent proliferation of barbed wire. The most important and most time-consuming part of a barbed wire fence is constructing the corner post and the bracing assembly. A barbed wire fence

365-450: A concrete base 51 centimetres (20 in) square and 110 centimetres (42 in) deep. Iron posts, if used, are a minimum 64 millimetres (2.5 in) in diameter. Bracing wire is typically smooth 9-gauge. Line posts are set to a depth of about 76 centimetres (30 in). Conversely, steel posts are not as stiff as wood, and wires are fastened with slips along fixed teeth, which means variations in driving height affect wire spacing. During

438-432: A diagonal wire connects the top of the brace post to the bottom of the corner post. This diagonal wire prevents the brace post from leaning, which in turn allows the horizontal brace to prevent the corner post from leaning into the brace post. A second set of brace posts (forming a double brace ) is used whenever the barbed wire span exceeds 60 metres (200 ft). When the barbed wire span exceeds 200 m (650 ft),

511-543: A facility for women. FPC Alderson, which opened on April 30, 1927, as the Federal Industrial Institute for Women , was the first federal women's prison in the United States. It was opened during a reform movement in the 1920s to help reform female offenders. The first warden, Mary B. Harris , was chosen by Willebrandt. Despite later bureau mythology that Alderson opened its doors with moonshining women from

584-608: A falling out with Washburn and Moen and Isaac Ellwood. He moved to St. Louis and founded the Southern Wire Company, which became the largest manufacturer of unlicensed or "bootleg" barbed wire. An 1880 US District Court decision upheld the validity of the Glidden patent, effectively establishing a monopoly. This decision was affirmed by the US Supreme Court in 1892. In 1898 Gates took control of Washburn and Moen, and created

657-517: A farmer in 1873 and the first of the "Big Four," is often credited for designing a successful sturdy barbed wire product, but he let others popularize it for him. Glidden's idea came from a display at a fair in DeKalb , Illinois in 1873, by Henry B. Rose. Rose had patented "The Wooden Strip with Metallic Points" in May 1873. This was simply a wooden block with wire protrusions designed to keep cows from breaching

730-440: A focus on vocational training and personal growth experiences, with craft-shop activities an integral part of vocational training. Free time is spent walking around the sidewalk that is set between the two dorms as this is within bounds for the inmates. Since 2004 inmates are no longer free to roam the entire campus and are restricted in areas of the prison. They also play recreational activities such as volleyball . John Benish,

803-451: Is a major feature of the fortifications in trench warfare . A person or animal trying to pass through or over barbed wire will suffer discomfort and possibly injury. Barbed wire fencing requires only fence posts, wire, and fixing devices such as staples . It is simple to construct and quick to erect, even by an unskilled person. The first patent in the United States for barbed wire was issued in 1867 to Lucien B. Smith of Kent, Ohio , who

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876-574: Is a town in Greenbrier and Monroe counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia , on both sides of the Greenbrier River . The population was 975 at the 2020 census. Alderson is a community located along the Greenbrier River in Greenbrier County and Monroe County , incorporated in 1881. Alderson was originally settled in 1777 by "Elder" John Alderson, a frontier missionary for whom the town

949-418: Is about a five-hour driving distance from Washington, D.C. Serving as a model for prison reform at the time, the facility was styled after a boarding school , offering education with no armed guards. The facility followed a reformatory model with no fenced grounds. The prison consisted of primarily work-oriented facilities designed for minor federal offenders. It originally consisted of 14 cottages built in

1022-422: Is harder to handle and somewhat dangerous for inexperienced fencers. Soft wire is much easier to work but is less durable and only suitable for short spans such as repairs and gates, where it is less likely to tangle. In high soil-fertility areas where dairy cattle are used in great numbers, 5- or 7-wire fences are common as the main boundary and internal dividing fences. On sheep farms 7-wire fences are common with

1095-572: Is named, who organized the first Baptist church in the Greenbrier Valley . In 1763, the nearby Muddy Creek settlements were destroyed by Shawnee Indians under Chief Cornstalk . Alderson is the location of the Federal Reformatory for Women , opened in 1927, the first federal prison for women. During the early 1900s, Alderson became a hub of higher education in the state. It was home to three separate institutions of higher education, including

1168-401: Is regarded as the inventor. Joseph F. Glidden of DeKalb, Illinois , received a patent for the modern invention in 1874 after he made his own modifications to previous versions. Wire fences are cheaper and easier to erect than their alternatives (one such alternative is Osage orange , a thorny bush that is time-consuming to transplant and grow). When wire fences became widely available in

1241-436: Is then wrapped around the opposite corner post, pulled tightly with wire stretchers, and sometimes nailed with more fence staples, although this may make readjustment of tension or replacement of the wire more difficult. Then it is attached to all of the line posts with fencing staples driven in partially to allow stretching of the wire. There are several ways to anchor the wire to a corner post: Barbed wire for agriculture use

1314-405: Is then wrapped around the tractor post and pulled onto the nail, stronger people can pull the gate tighter but anyone can jar off the chain to open the gate. Barbed wire fences remain the standard fencing technology for enclosing cattle in most regions of the United States, but not all countries. The wire is aligned under tension between heavy, braced, fence posts (strainer posts) and then held at

1387-506: Is typically available in two varieties: soft or mild-steel wire and high- tensile . Both types are galvanized for longevity. High-tensile wire is made with thinner but higher-strength steel. Its greater strength makes fences longer lasting because it resists stretching and loosening better, coping with expansion and contraction caused by heat and animal pressure by stretching and relaxing within wider elastic limits. It also supports longer spans, but because of its elastic (springy) nature, it

1460-432: Is typically double-strand 12 + 1 ⁄ 2 - gauge , zinc -coated (galvanized) steel and comes in rolls of 400 m (1,320 ft) length. Barbed wire is usually placed on the inner (pasture) side of the posts. Where a fence runs between two pastures livestock could be with the wire on the outside or on both sides of the fence. Galvanized wire is classified into three categories; Classes I, II, and III. Class I has

1533-404: Is under tremendous tension, often up to half a ton , and so the corner post's sole function is to resist the tension of the fence spans connected to it. The bracing keeps the corner post vertical and prevents slack from developing in the fence. Brace posts are placed in-line about 2.5 metres (8 ft) from the corner post. A horizontal compression brace connects the top of the two posts, and

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1606-548: The 1750s and the settlement was supposedly destroyed by Native Americans shortly thereafter, though no factual evidence exists to support this theory. Few archaeological remains of the early fort remain after the building of the Federal Prison Camp in the early 20th century. Only notations in early journals refer to the location of the fort. Betty Alderson, who is married to a descendant of the original founders of Alderson, stated "every business profited" when Martha Stewart

1679-401: The 1920s, there was a shortage of federal prison space for female inmates. Women offenders either were given alternative punishments or were housed alone within all-male institutions. Prison staff and fellow inmates sexually exploited girls and women who were incarcerated in these facilities. Mabel Walker Willebrandt , then an Assistant U.S. Attorney General , first encouraged establishment of

1752-708: The Alderson Academy and Junior College, which eventually was integrated into Alderson-Broaddus College in 1932. The Alexander McVeigh Miller House in Greenbrier County is listed on the National Register of Historic Places , as is Sunset Hill in Monroe County. The Alderson Bridge and Alderson Historic District are located in both counties. According to the United States Census Bureau ,

1825-465: The American Steel and Wire Company, formed by the merging of Gates's and Washburn's and Ellwood's industries. Smaller companies were decimated because of economies of scale and the smaller pool of consumers available to them, compared to the larger corporations. The American Steel and Wire Company established in 1899 employed vertical integration: it controlled all aspects of production, from producing

1898-439: The American Steel and Wire Company, later acquired by The U.S. Steel Corporation. Between 1873 and 1899 there were as many as 150 companies manufacturing barbed wire. Investors knew that the business required minimal capital, and almost anyone with determination could profit by manufacturing a new wire design. There was then a sharp decline in the number of manufacturers, and many were consolidated into larger companies, notably

1971-559: The American Steel and Wire monopoly, which became a part of the United States Steel Corporation. This led to disputes known as the range wars between open range ranchers and farmers in the late 19th century. These were similar to the disputes which resulted from enclosure laws in England in the early 18th century. These disputes were decisively settled in favor of the farmers, and heavy penalties were instituted for cutting

2044-628: The Barb Fence Company in DeKalb following the success of "The Winner". The company's success attracted the attention of Charles Francis Washburn, Vice President of Washburn & Moen Manufacturing Company, an important producer of plain wire in the Eastern U.S. Washburn visited DeKalb and convinced Glidden to sell his stake in the Barb Wire Fence Company, while Ellwood stayed in DeKalb and renamed

2117-837: The California-Mexico border. It included barbed wire and was intended to keep cattle from moving between the two countries. In 1924, the United States created its border patrol , which built more barbed wire fences on the Mexican border; this time to prevent people from crossing. More significantly, barbed wire was used extensively by all participating combatants in World War I to prevent movement, with deadly consequences. Barbed wire entanglements were placed in front of trenches to prevent direct charges on men below, increasingly leading to greater use of more advanced weapons such as high-powered machine guns and grenades. A feature of these entanglements

2190-587: The Combat of Magul in 1895. Less well known is its extensive usage in the Russo-Japanese War . In 1899 barbed wire was also extensively used in the Boer War , where it played a strategic role bringing spaces under control, at military outposts as well as to hold the captured Boer population in concentration camps . The government of the United States built its first international border fence from 1909 to 1911 along

2263-486: The First World War, screw pickets were used for the installation of wire obstacles; these were metal rods with eyelets for holding strands of wire, and a corkscrew-like end that could literally be screwed into the ground rather than hammered, so that wiring parties could work at night near enemy soldiers and not reveal their position by the sound of hammers. As with any fence, barbed wire fences require gates to allow

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2336-451: The Germans used barbed wire as follows: The enemy wire was always deep, thick, and securely staked with iron supports, which were either crossed like the letter X, or upright, with loops to take the wire and shaped at one end like corkscrews so as to screw into the ground. The wire stood on these supports on a thick web, about four feet high and from thirty to forty feet across. The wire used

2409-516: The Prohibition era. Esther Heffernan, a sociology professor at Edgewood College , said that throughout history the inmates included "relatives of famous mobsters and grandmotherly women who embezzled money from banks. You've had a real mixture." Hefferman added that in Alderson, which was a "not undesirable" place to be confined, the isolation from urban life could be stressful for inmates. She said that

2482-647: The United States in the late 19th century, it became more affordable to fence much larger areas than before, and intensive animal husbandry was made practical on a much larger scale. An example of the costs of fencing with lumber immediately prior to the invention of barbed wire can be found with the first farmers in the Fresno , California, area, who spent nearly $ 4,000 (equivalent to $ 102,000 in 2023) to have wood for fencing delivered and erected to protect 2,500 acres (1,000 ha) of wheat crop from free-ranging livestock in 1872. Fencing consisting of flat and thin wire

2555-529: The West in the 1870s dramatically reduced the cost of enclosing land. One fan wrote the inventor Joseph Glidden : Barbed wire emerged as a major source of conflict with the so-called " Big Die Up " incident in the 1880s. This occurred because of the instinctual migrations of cattle away from the blizzard conditions of the Northern Plains to the warmer and plentiful Southern Plains, but by the early 1880s this area

2628-419: The age of 18 living with them, 43.0% were married couples living together, 16.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.4% were non-families. 34.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.87. In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.8% under

2701-458: The age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 22.9% from 25 to 44, 23.6% from 45 to 64, and 21.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.4 males. The median income for a household in the town was $ 23,043, and the median income for a family was $ 29,028. Males had a median income of $ 31,000 versus $ 20,938 for females. The per capita income for

2774-496: The company I.L Ellwood & Company of DeKalb. In the late 1870s, John Warne Gates of Illinois began to promote barbed wire, now a proven product, in the lucrative markets of Texas. At first, Texans were hesitant, as they feared that cattle might be harmed, or that the North was somehow trying to make profits from the South. There was also conflict between the farmers who wanted fencing and

2847-653: The correct height by being attached to wooden or steel fence posts , and/or with battens in between. The gaps between posts vary depending on type and terrain. On short fences in hilly country, steel posts may be placed every 3 metres (3 yd), while in flat terrain with long spans and relatively few stock they may be spaced up to 30 to 50 metres (33 to 55 yd) apart. Wooden posts are normally spaced at 10 metres (11 yd) on all terrain, with 4 or 5 battens in between. However, many farmers place posts 2 metres (2 yd) apart as battens can bend, causing wires to close in on one another. Barbed wire for agricultural fencing

2920-721: The families of inmates were allowed past visiting rooms only on Thanksgiving Day when they could also share in a holiday feast for $ 1.75. FPC Alderson was one of six federal and state prisons participating in the Paws4prisons service dog training program. This program allowed inmates the opportunity to interact and work with dogs. This included an academic curriculum where inmates first learned how to train "shelter-rescue dogs" and then progressed to developing highly trained assistance dogs. 37°43′25″N 80°40′04″W  /  37.72361°N 80.66778°W  / 37.72361; -80.66778 Alderson, West Virginia Alderson

2993-416: The fence. Later other smaller scale cattlemen, especially in central Texas , opposed the closing of the open range, and began cutting fences to allow cattle to pass through to find grazing land. In this transition zone between the agricultural regions to the south and the rangeland to the north, conflict erupted, with vigilantes joining the scene causing chaos and even death. The Fence Cutting Wars ended with

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3066-417: The fence. That day, Glidden was accompanied by two other men, Isaac L. Ellwood, a hardware dealer and Jacob Haish, a lumber merchant. Like Glidden, they both wanted to create a more durable wire fence with fixed barbs. Glidden experimented with a grindstone to twist two wires together to hold the barbs on the wire in place. The barbs were created from experiments with a coffee mill from his home. Later Glidden

3139-630: The former co-manager of the Alderson Hospitality House, a hospitality establishment where families of Alderson inmates stay when visiting, said that FPC Alderson is "built like a college campus. There is lot of property, a lot of greenery and there is no barbed wire around." The Alderson facility includes two dormitories with 500 inmates each. Inmates live in two-person cubicles instead of traditional barred prison cells, and sleep in bunk beds . The cubicles are 5-by-9-foot (1.5 m × 2.7 m), separated by cinder-blocks . The prison

3212-400: The gate ends with two corner posts braced or unbraced depending on the size of the post. An unpounded post (often an old broken post) is held to one corner post with wire rings which act as hinges. On the other end a full-length post, the tractor post, is placed with the pointed end upwards with a ring on the bottom stapled to the other corner post, the latch post, and on top a ring is stapled to

3285-558: The growing West needed to keep livestock off their tracks, and farmers needed to keep stray cattle from trampling their crops. Traditional fence materials used in the Eastern U.S., like wood and stone, were expensive to use in the large open spaces of the plains, and hedging was not reliable in the rocky, clay-based and rain-starved dusty soils. A cost-effective alternative was needed to make cattle operations profitable. The "Big Four" in barbed wire were Joseph Glidden , Jacob Haish , Charles Francis Washburn, and Isaac L. Ellwood . Glidden,

3358-407: The hills of West Virginia, 174 women had been sent to the facility in the first year of operation before its formal November 14, 1928, opening. The West Virginia location was chosen as it was remote enough from major population centers to reduce potential escapes, while it was reasonably close to the U.S. capital. The vast majority of the women were imprisoned for drug and alcohol charges imposed during

3431-486: The inmates, "Coming from the streets of New York and D.C. ," were awakened at night by crickets and frogs. Most of the inmates at FPC Alderson have been convicted of non-violent or white-collar crime . Many are in the drug program and have come from other prisons to attend the program at Alderson. FPC Alderson is a 159-acre (64 ha) facility and is the largest employer in the Alderson, West Virginia area. The prison

3504-584: The largest Fourth of July celebrations in West Virginia, attracting approximately 15,000 people during the parade. It is unique by offering many family activities. Over six days, events include a fireman's rodeo, band shows, a car show, a parade, various races on the Greenbrier River, as well as a parade and fireworks. The Alderson Strawberry Festival began in 2016, and occurs during Memorial Day weekend every year. This festival celebrates strawberries, and

3577-405: The local farmers provide the strawberries for the event. Barbed wire Barbed wire , also known as barb wire , is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strands. Its primary use is the construction of inexpensive fences , and it is also used as a security measure atop walls surrounding property. As a wire obstacle , it

3650-459: The middle, it is permanently wired on one side and attaches to a gate post with wire loops on the other. Most designs can be opened by hand, though some gates that are frequently opened and closed may have a lever attached to assist in bringing the upper wire loop over the gate post. Gates for cattle tend to have four wires when along a three wire fence, as cattle tend to put more stress on gates, particularly on corner gates. The fence on each side of

3723-509: The movement of cattle. By the beginning of the 20th century, large numbers of cowboys were unnecessary. John Warne Gates demonstrated barbed wire for Washburn and Moen in Military Plaza , San Antonio, Texas in 1876. The demonstration showing cattle restrained by the new kind of fencing was followed immediately by invitations to the Menger Hotel to place orders. Gates subsequently had

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3796-462: The passage of a Texas law in 1884 that made fence cutting a felony. Other states followed, although conflicts occurred through the early years of the 20th century. An 1885 federal law forbade placing such fences across the public domain. Barbed wire is cited by historians as the invention that tamed the West. Herding large numbers of cattle on open range required significant manpower to catch strays. Barbed wire provided an inexpensive method to control

3869-501: The passage of persons, vehicles and farm implements. Gates vary in width from 3.5 metres (12 ft) to allow the passage of vehicles and tractors, to 12 metres (40 ft) on farm land to pass combines and swathers. One style of gate is called the Hampshire gate in the UK, a New Zealand gate in some areas, and often simply a "gate" elsewhere. Made of wire with posts attached at both ends and in

3942-525: The ranchers who were losing the open range . Demonstrations by Gates in San Antonio in 1876 showed that the wire could keep cattle contained, and sales then increased dramatically. Gates eventually parted company with Ellwood and became a barbed wire baron in his own right. Throughout the height of barbed wire sales in the late 19th century, Washburn, Ellwood, Gates, and Haish competed with one another. Ellwood and Gates eventually joined forces again to create

4015-410: The second (from bottom) to fifth wire being plain wire. In New Zealand wire fences must provide passage for dogs since they are the main means of controlling and driving animals on farms. Around the turn of the 20th century, in some rural areas, barbed wire fences were used for local telephone networks . Barbed wire was used for the first time by Portuguese troops defending from African tribes during

4088-422: The smaller spacing. The sole function of a line post is not to take up slack but to keep the barbed wire strands spaced equally and off the ground. Once these posts and bracing have been erected, the wire is wrapped around one corner post, held with a hitch (a timber hitch works well for this) often using a staple to hold the height and then reeled out along the span of the fence replacing the roll every 400 m. It

4161-606: The steel rods to making many different wire and nail products from that steel. It later became part of U.S. Steel, and barbed wire remained a major source of revenue. Barbed wire was important in protecting range rights in the Western U.S. Although some ranchers put notices in newspapers claiming land areas, and joined stockgrowers associations to help enforce their claims, livestock continued to cross range boundaries. Fences of smooth wire did not hold stock well, and hedges were difficult to grow and maintain. Barbed wire's introduction in

4234-929: The thinnest coating and the shortest life expectancy. A wire with Class I coating will start showing general rusting in 8 to 10 years, while the same wire with Class III coating will show rust in 15 to 20 years. Aluminum-coated wire is occasionally used, and yields a longer life. Corner posts are 15 to 20 centimetres (6 to 8 in) in diameter or larger, and a minimum 2.5 metres (8 ft) in length may consist of treated wood or from durable on-site trees such as osage orange, black locust , red cedar , or red mulberry , also railroad ties, telephone, and power poles are salvaged to be used as corner posts (poles and railroad ties were often treated with chemicals determined to be an environmental hazard and cannot be reused in some jurisdictions). In Canada spruce posts are sold for this purpose. Posts are 10 centimetres (4 in) in diameter driven at least 1.2 metres (4 ft) and may be anchored in

4307-456: The town has a total area of 0.95 square miles (2.46 km ), of which 0.89 square miles (2.31 km ) is land and 0.06 square miles (0.16 km ) is water. As of the census of 2010, there were 1,184 people, 518 households, and 315 families living in the town. The population density was 1,330.3 inhabitants per square mile (513.6/km ). There were 602 housing units at an average density of 676.4 per square mile (261.2/km ). The racial makeup of

4380-456: The town was $ 14,474. About 17.8% of families and 22.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.7% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those aged 65 or over. Amtrak , the national passenger rail service, provides request stop service to Alderson under the Cardinal route. The Federal Bureau of Prisons facility Federal Prison Camp, Alderson , where media mogul Martha Stewart

4453-553: The town was 91.0% White , 5.0% African American , 0.3% Native American , 0.3% Asian , and 3.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.9% of the population. There were 518 households, of which 26.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.2% were married couples living together, 14.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 39.2% were non-families. 31.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.2% had someone living alone who

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4526-456: The town. The population density was 1,214.5 inhabitants per square mile (468.0/km ). There were 586 housing units at an average density of 652.3 per square mile (251.4/km ). The racial makeup of the town was 90.83% White , 6.60% African American , 0.27% Native American , 0.18% Asian , and 2.11% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.10% of the population. There were 481 households, out of which 25.8% had children under

4599-464: The tractor post, tied with a Stockgrower's Lash or one of numerous other opening bindings. Wires are then tied around the post at one end then run to the other end where they are stretched by hand or with a stretcher, before posts are stapled on every 1.2 metres (4 ft). Often this type of gate is called a portagee fence or a portagee gate in various ranching communities of coastal Central California . Most gates can be opened by push post. The chain

4672-487: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.83. The median age in the town was 42.8 years. 20.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.8% were from 25 to 44; 27.5% were from 45 to 64; and 19.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 48.9% male and 51.1% female. As of the census of 2000, there were 1,091 people, 481 households, and 305 families living in

4745-468: Was already divided and claimed by ranchers. The ranchers in place, especially in the Texas Panhandle, knew that their holdings could not support the grazing of additional cattle, so the only alternative was to block the migrations with barb wire fencing. Many of the herds were decimated in the winter of 1885, with some losing as many as three-quarters of all animals when they could not find a way around

4818-611: Was first proposed in France, by Leonce Eugene Grassin-Baledans in 1860. His design consisted of bristling points, creating a fence that was painful to cross. In April 1865 Louis François Janin proposed a double wire with diamond-shaped metal barbs; Francois was granted a patent. Michael Kelly from New York had a similar idea, and proposed that the fencing should be used specifically for deterring animals. More patents followed, and in 1867 alone there were six patents issued for barbed wire. Only two of them addressed livestock deterrence, one of which

4891-482: Was from American Lucien B. Smith of Ohio. Before 1870, westward movement in the United States was largely across the plains with little or no settlement occurring. After the American Civil War the plains were extensively settled, consolidating America's dominance over them. Ranchers moved out on the plains, and needed to fence their land in against encroaching farmers and other ranchers. The railroads throughout

4964-467: Was generally as thick as sailor's marline stuff, or two twisted rope yarns. It contained, as a rule, some sixteen barbs to the foot. The wire used in front of our lines was generally galvanized, and remained grey after months of exposure. The (German) wire, not being galvanized, rusted to a black color, and shows up black at a great distance. During the Great Depression , migratory work camps in

5037-402: Was imprisoned, is the largest employer in Alderson. A portion of FPC Alderson is located in unincorporated Monroe County , while the other portion of the prison lies in unincorporated Summers County . The Alderson Federal Prison Camp is located on the spot on which the earliest settlers of the area chose to settle and called their settlement Baughman's Fort . Baughman's Fort was built in

5110-414: Was incarcerated at Alderson and media attention was focused on the community. Residents planted bulbs into a garden that was to be named "Martha's Garden." "Alderson has gained fame for its elaborate Fourth of July festivities, as much a fitting celebration of small-town America as it is an observance of the nation's holiday." It is also one of the oldest celebrations in the state. It currently has one of

5183-544: Was joined by Ellwood who knew his design could not compete with Glidden's for which he applied for a patent in October 1873. Meanwhile, Haish, who had already secured several patents for barbed wire design, applied for a patent on his third type of wire, the S barb, and accused Glidden of interference, deferring Glidden's approval for his patented wire, nicknamed "The Winner," until November 24, 1874. Barbed wire production greatly increased with Glidden and Ellwood's establishment of

5256-657: Was nicknamed "Camp Cupcake " by members of the news media when Martha Stewart was sentenced to a five-month term there and was referred to as " Yale " by Stewart herself. Local residents have also referred to it as "the college campus." By 2004, according to Alexandra Marks of The Independent , the operating model for Alderson followed "a punitive rather than a rehabilitative model". As of 2004, most prisoners at Alderson were convicted of recreational drug -related offenses. Prisoners are not permitted to patronize Alderson-area businesses. The facility allows weekend visits, but special hours are available for holidays. In prior years

5329-518: Was that the barbs were much closer together, often forming a continuous sequence. Barbed wire could be exposed to heavy bombardments because it could be easily replaced, and its structure included so much open space that machine guns rarely destroyed enough of it to defeat its purpose. However, barbed wire was defeated by the tank in 1916, as shown by the Allied breakthrough at Amiens through German lines on August 8, 1918. One British writer described how

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