Samuel Hewitt
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2025) |
 Samuel Hewitt's schematics for the haypress he invented, from the patent he submitted on December 30, 1843. |
Samuel Hewitt was a small-town inventor from Allensville, Indiana. He invented the "Mormon haypress", which was patented in 1843.[1][2][3] The hay press revolutionized the industry, and the county's economy began to focus on hay production. 200 machines were made, but only 4 remain.[4][1] One of these haypresses resides in a museum in Lawrenceburg, Indiana.[5]
Thiebaud Farm in Switzerland County, Indiana was a site that shipped out hundreds of haybales to the rest of the country along Ohio and Mississippi rivers. For this reason, Samuel Hewitt came up with a faster way to cut and package haybales in the Mormon Haypress.[1] The haypress was 3 stories tall, and was powered usually by farm animals, such as horses or mules.[6] The haypresses themselves also were used in other states, most notably in Kentucky.[2] Hewitt submitted the patent on December 30, 1843, along with a detailed image of the build and function of the machine.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Thiebaud Farmstead". Switzerland County Historical Society. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
- ^ a b Baas, Christopher; Rubino, Darrin (2014). "Pressing Hay in the Commonwealth: Using Tree-ring Growth Patterns to Date the Construction of Two Kentucky Beater Hay Press Barns" (PDF). Journal of Kentucky Archaeology. 3 (2): 31 – via Department of Geosciences, Murray State University.
- ^ "Wayback Machine". npgallery.nps.gov. Archived from the original on 2024-06-12. Retrieved 2025-06-02.
- ^ "Mormon Haypress". Switzerland County Historical Society. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
- ^ a b "Hay press: Key part of Switzerland County history, moves to museum". Madison Courier. 2016-05-23. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
- ^ "S. Hewitt, Hay Press, Patented Dec.30,1843" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2025-06-02.