Those little things that make a big difference didn’t just show up. It took decades of engineering innovation to make them what they are today. Here are some of the highlights of that fascinating story.
The first American bolt factory still stands in Connecticut. To modern eyes it looks small—but it helped launch the industry.
You don’t have to be an engineer to appreciate the simple beauty of the helix—also known as the screw thread.
It took generations of metallurgists and engineers to perfect the screw thread.
The very first bolt factory looked like a cabin. (See “Where Bolts Began.”) A later factory was such big news, the story made it into the widely respected publication Scientific American.
Micah Rugg made scythes for the farmers in his Connecticut community. On the side, he tinkered with making and improving bolts. His innovations were patented and a new industry was born.