Edward Huber (September 1, 1837,

Dover, Indiana Dover is an unincorporated community in Kelso Township, Dearborn County, Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and l ...

– August 26, 1904,

Marion, Ohio Marion is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Ohio, Marion County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in north-central Ohio, approximately north of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus. The population was 35,999 at the 2020 United S ...

) was an American

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

and

industrialist A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...

. Huber established his role in the modernization of American agriculture when he invented a “revolving hay rake” (patented in 1863) that allowed one man to do in three hours what three men could do in a day. Relocating to

, Huber patented his

hay rake A hay rake is an agricultural rake used to collect cut hay or straw into windrows for later collection (e.g. by a baler or a loader wagon). It is also designed to fluff up the hay and turn it over so that it may dry. It is also used in the even ...

and began a full line of agricultural implements. Huber's production lines ran only in second to that of

Cyrus McCormick Cyrus Hall McCormick (February 15, 1809 – May 13, 1884) was an American inventor and businessman who founded the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company, which later became part of the International Harvester Company in 1902. Originally from the ...

, the inventor of the

McCormick reaper Cyrus Hall McCormick (February 15, 1809 – May 13, 1884) was an American inventor and businessman who founded the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company, which later became part of the International Harvester Company in 1902. Originally from the ...

. Huber also began to build and market affordable steam tractors, and was the first producer of modern gasoline-powered

tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most common ...

s. Eventually, Huber entered the heavy construction equipment market by pioneering the use of weighted rollers on his steam engines meeting the needs of modern road leveling and grading. This company was eventually combine with Bucyrus-based WARCO Industries to form the Huber-WARCO Corporation of America. Huber-Warco was ultimately taken over by Dresser Industries, which closed the production facilities in Marion. Huber, a division of Enterprise Fabrications, Inc., then operated out of

Iberia, Ohio Iberia is a census-designated place in western Washington Township, Morrow County, Ohio, United States. The community is served by the Northmor Local School District which formerly operated Iberia Elementary School in the community. Iberia is ...

until 2009 when they were closed after a hostile take over by Louisiana Crane Company. The Huber brand appears to be being dissolved by Louisiana Crane Company. Edward Huber is also known for providing seed capital to Henry Barnhart, who was seeking to build a better steam shovel in the 19th century. Once capitalized and incorporated in 1884, Marion Steam Shovel (later Marion Power Shovel) became the leading producer of shovels and draglines in the United States until cheaper, foreign made products forced the closure of Marion Power Shovel in the 1980s. Nevertheless, Marion Steam Shovel's contributions can not be overlooked and include their use almost exclusively in digging the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...

, and

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

's launch creepers that helped move the Apollo Rockets into launch position. Edward Huber died, aged 66, and was interred in St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery, Marion, Ohio.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huber, Edward 1837 births 1904 deaths American manufacturing businesspeople 19th-century American inventors People from Marion, Ohio People from Dearborn County, Indiana Catholics from Ohio Catholics from Indiana 19th-century American businesspeople