New Glarus Inventors Left Their Mark

From door bolts and cheese-making tools to medical technology and speaker design, patent records show New Glarus residents have been solving practical problems for generations.

Todd Klassy Staff
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3 Min
Edited by Todd Klassy, Staff
New Glarus Inventors Left Their Mark

From door bolts and cheese-making tools to medical technology and speaker design, patent records show New Glarus residents have been solving practical problems for generations.

New Glarus has always been a village known for making things: cheese, beer, buildings, farms, festivals, businesses and, sometimes, inventions.

Patent records and local history show that New Glarus residents have been connected to U.S. patents for nearly 150 years, with early inventions rooted in farm and dairy life and more recent patents reaching into power tools, medical technology, biotechnology, audio equipment and more.

Among the earliest known examples is Thomas Hoesly, who filed for an improvement in door bolts in 1875. The patent, granted June 6, 1876, described a practical device for securing doors and gates, a fitting invention for a rural community where barns, outbuildings and farms were central to everyday life.

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