Mike Landis
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Daniel Drawbaugh and His Impact on Cumberland County’s Economy
Born in Lower Allen Township, on July fourteenth, 1827, Daniel Drawbaugh went on to become Cumberland County’s most successful inventor. Despite his lack of formal training following his public education at local country school, Drawbaugh excelled as a master mechanic and inventor. Throughout the duration of his eighty-four years, he obtained seventy patents , thirty-five of which were in relation to modifications of the telephone. Innovations such as the pneumatic drill and various electric powered clocks are examples of how Drawbaugh’s mechanical experiences were beneficial to him in the science and technological world. Drawbaugh’s most notable discovery, however, is enshrined in controversy. His alleged creation of the first fully-functioning telephone is for what he is possibly best known, but his failure to successfully obtain a patent prevented Drawbaugh from being able to claim the invention as his own . 1876 marked a dark time for Cumberland County’s economy in that it was the year in which Alexander Graham Bell secured his patent for the telephone. Perhaps one of the least discussed facets of Daniel Drawbaugh’s long life is his attempt and desire to bring affordable power and light to Cumberland County in a time when the economy was in poor condition. Unfortunately for Drawbaugh and the people of Cumberland County, his goal was not reached.
The nation’s economy was suffering greatly during the 1870s. In 1873, the Coinage Act was passed, which devalued silver, leaving silver miners holding onto a great deal of the nearly worthless metal. From 1873 until 1878, the United States was faced with a depression that resulted from the act. The debts of peasant workers and farmers continued to rise as the value of their crop outputs declined by 3%. The U.S. government was soon faced with an economic crisis of its own as its attempts to disperse aid began to come up short. The nation was faced with mass inflation as the gold standard came into existence.
At the same time as the economic repercussions of the Coinage Act were being felt, the nation was trying to recover from the effects of the Civil War. A rather substantial amount of Americans were left homeless and jobless as a result of the conflict which left the nation physically destroyed in many regions. Daniel Drawbaugh saw the hardships that faced the nation during the 1870 and viewed this time as an opportunity to bring about change and improvement to Cumberland County.
The son of John and Leah Drawbaugh, Daniel attended local country school at a very young age. Although his performance in school was better than average, he showed very little interest in his studies, but rather enjoyed taking advantage what his father’s workshop had to offer. Unlike the classroom, John Drawbaugh’s workshop enabled Daniel to experiment and with elements of science and nature. His extended family possessed great skill in mechanics and Daniel put his inherited skills to great work in his father’s workshop where he aided his father with his blacksmith duties. As he grew older, Drawbaugh began putting his skills to better use as he began building new inventions and machines in exchange for cash. At the age of only seventeen, Drawbaugh built himself a rather crude-looking rifle that was possessed amazing shooting accuracy. Also in his late teens, he began to experiment with drill improvements and coach-making. All of these interests kept Drawbaugh occupied for short periods of time, but his fascination with science and nature inevitably led him to embracing being an inventor as his sole means of obtaining an income. On New Year’s Day 1854, he married Elsetta J. Thompson, the daughter of York County representative John Thompson and his wife Mary. Daniel and Elsetta began their marriage in Eberly’s Mills in the same house that Daniel was born and raised. The two of them had a total of twelve children, only four of whom lived past birth.
Throughout his career, Daniel Drawbaugh worked to create things that would benefit the members of the county in which he spent his entire life. Arguably his most noted and equally most contested achievement was the creation of the telephone. In 1863, Drawbaugh began his work on what he termed a “talking machine.” Using an empty mustard can as a receiver and a china teacup in place of a transmitter, Drawbaugh passed electrical currents of varying intensities through charcoal and Carbon parts to achieve a means of communicating for two people who are not in the same room or building . This creation had the potential of making Drawbaugh quite wealthy and would have ultimately led to a stimulation of Cumberland County’s economy, but as a result of Drawbaugh’s failure to obtain a patent for his creation in 1866, the credit for creating the first functioning telephone was awarded to Alexander Graham Bell.
Despite his fervor for creating practical inventions and his desire for his county to prosper, Daniel Drawbaugh was a poor businessman and was therefore always in debt. His failure to secure a patent in 1866 was not a result of being disinterested, but rather Drawbaugh did not possess the $60 needed for payment . As a result, his “talking machine” was not recognized as the first telephone. What followed was ten years of court proceeding between Drawbaugh and Alexander Graham Bell over the legitimacy of Drawbaugh’s claim of being the inventor of the telephone.
Much of the following ten years consisted of Drawbaugh attempting to gain the status of being the primary creator of the telephone. Many of the cases went to court which generally led to Drawbaugh losing his claim. In 1876, Bell was awarded full patent right by a four to three court decision . Failing to recognize Bells victory, many separate phone companies were brought into existence almost as a form of protest to the court’s decision in Bell’s favor. These “protest companies” were ordered by a judge to halt business immediately. Not to be defeated so easily, Daniel Drawbaugh joined forces with the People’s Telephone Company that was founded in 1882 as a stock company. At the time, the group had nearly $5,000,000 to be used for the sole purpose of manufacturing phones. It was in there best interest to support Drawbaugh and his claims of being the first creator, and therefore sole owner of the telephone patent. Drawbaugh used the political and economic power of the People’s Telephone Company as leverage in his efforts against the American Bell Telephone Company, despite reports that he was offered $1,100,000 by the Bell Company to avoid court proceedings. 1883 was the year in which Drawbaugh was the closest to defeating Bell in a courtroom which would have led to financial stability for himself as well as the people of Cumberland County. Finally, in 1884, a court a five to four court ruling stated that Bell’s telephone patent could not be stripped. This truly marked the end of Drawbaugh’s attempt to receive credit for being the sole creator of the telephone. Fortunately for Drawbaugh, a court ruling in 1896 gave him rights that enabled him to be associated with telephone advancements and telephone companies other than the American Bell Company, of course. He was once again able to have his name associated with the telephone, this time in a positive light.
Years after his career was tainted by litigation with the American Bell Company, Drawbaugh sold the telephone rights that he had for his own personal creation to the People’s Telephone Company for a reported $20,000 and several stocks , but in the end, he was given little credit for creating the telephone and financial woes continued to plague him.
Aside from Drawbaugh’s financial troubles and advancements with the telephone, he is credited with making contributions to construction and carpentry. His patented pneumatic drills, for example, were employed in the construction of the Library of Congress. Many of Drawbaugh’s other construction-related tools and machines were used in factories and plants in Cumberland County and several of the surrounding counties as well. Advertisements could be seen in the Carlisle Evening Sentinel in the 1860s and 1870s depicting his patented tools and machines as being dependable and effective on the worksite.
Drawbaugh’s interest in clocks led him to new discoveries related to time-keeping. Early in his career, he engineered a clock that was fueled by electricity generated by zinc and copper plates . As his career furthered, Drawbaugh continued to find new and innovative techniques to improve the quality of time-keeping. He not only manipulated the gearing of clocks to provide more efficient movement but also devised new means of powering the devices. One such creation involved the powering of a clock’s battery with electricity that was generated by burying two zinc plates in the soil. The zinc created its own electric field from the soil and then traveled to the clock where the energy was used to power the battery. Drawbaugh’s knowledge of and experience with science aided him greatly in his technological endeavors.
Creating a means of powering machines and inventions was something quite familiar to Daniel Drawbaugh. He had a hydro-electric power plant at his disposal which he used to run and operate the machinery at his shop. Drawbaugh recognized the value of water power in terms of energy and business. Direct access to the Yellow Breeches and Condoguinet Creeks gave him the means to harness water energy and transform it into affordable electrical energy and light for Cumberland County.
Daniel Drawbaugh’s interest and knowledge in hydrodynamics allowed to him to perform experiments in which he was able to effectively channel the energy created by the flowing creeks into electrical energy that could be used by the citizens of Cumberland County. He created a hydroelectric system that utilized the force and movement of his nearby creeks to generate electric power. The plan was for the power to then be dispersed at an affordable rate to all members of the county. Unfortunately for Daniel Drawbaugh, his goal was never met.
As Drawbaugh’s plans to create a power company of sorts began to materialize, his ability to execute his plans began to fade. Once again, Daniel Drawbaugh’s financial problems hindered his ability to see his projects come to fruition. Although Drawbaugh possessed the skill needed to create a large scale, fully-functioning hydro-electric system, his notoriety for his indebtedness caused potential investors to avoid considering him as a business partner.
His poor business reputation ultimately forced him to forfeit his plans of affordable electric and light power for Cumberland County. Whereas his endeavors with regard to his telephone creation came to a halt because of financial instability, his plans for hydro-electric power ceased as a result of his suspect business decisions of his past. Essentially, no one felt confident enough to fund his operation, so nothing could be done to finalize his project. His good intentions and limber mind were of no use without the capital to set his plans into motion.
For his remaining years, Daniel Drawbaugh toiled around his workshop in Eberly’s Mills. Rather than focusing on new innovations, he simply occupied his time with menial experiments and projects. His love and compassion for his surrounding county led him towards many promising endeavors, but as a result of his poor business practices and constant indebtedness, he was never able to fully capitalize on his good intentions.
A few years before his death, Drawbaugh moved his family from the only home he ever lived, in Eberly’s Mills to a home in Camp, Hill, Pa. He died on November 13, 1911 in his home in Lower Allen Township. His financial instabilities followed him to the grave as his widow was left a mere $350 . Despite Drawbaugh’s inability to claim ownership of the telephone’s patent, his good intentions for Cumberland County are immeasurable. His desires to come to the aid of a crippled economy in the 1870s, including 1876 when he was initially defeated by the American Bell Company, are what made him such a noteworthy Cumberland County citizen. Long after his death, Daniel Drawbaugh’s name was used in conjunction with the formation of the Drawbaugh Telephone and Telegraph Company of New York. In this sense, his name will continue to be associated with his invention, the telephone.
Bibliography
“Among the Electricians.” St. Louis Globe-Democrat (St. Louis) March 6, 1883.
“Daniel Drawbaugh Beaten.” New York Times (New York) July 3, 1896.
“Daniel Drawbaugh: His Plan to Furnish Cheap Electric Light and Power for the People of Cumberland County.” J. Holmes Wilson, Evening Sentinel, Carlisle, PA, 1935.
“Favorable to Daniel Drawbaugh: Senate Committee on Patents Decides Against the Bell Company” New York Times (New York) June 4, 1896.
“Storage Batteries: Pros and Cons.” Boston Daily Adviser (Boston) March 30, 1883.
Advertisement, Carlisle Evening Sentinel, Carlisle, PA, June 6, 1864.
Biographical Annals of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania: Daniel Drawbaugh. Genealogical Publishing Company (Chicago), 1905.
Debate of Patents. U.S. Supreme Court. Co-operative Publishing Company, 1887.
Harder, Warren. Daniel Drawbaugh: The Edison of Cumberland County. University Of Pennsylvania Press (Philadelphia, PA) 1960.
Patent Model, c.1886. Eberly Mills, PA.
Patent Model c. 1887. Cumberland County Archives, Carlisle, PA.
Patent Model c. 1888. Cumberland County Archives, Carlisle, PA
