Quote Originally Posted by Doug MacQueen View Post
I think the idea that locks were not made in the US prior to 1831 needs to be taken with a big grain of salt. The relationship between the making of guns and the making of locks historically is a very strong one, especially strong with the moving parts of the gun, which coincidentally is known as the lock. The manufacturing skills needed were virtually the same. Since Ely Whitney did make guns here 30 years prior, the abilities needed to make locks certainly existed here. There were more than 10 US lock patents granted prior to 1831, none of which came out of Connecticut. The odds are also very great that individual blacksmith/machinists were copying or making locks of their own designs that were not patented. So while it may be correct to say that the lock industry was centered in Connecticut, it is stretching it a bit to say the first locks were made there. Doug
Hi Doug,
While you seem to have read my post you obviously didn't understand what I wrote. I didn't say no locks were made in the US, what I said was that manufacturing started in 1831. You can find that information in Tom Hennessy's book Early Locks and Lockmakers of America. Before manufacturing in the US most latches were made outside of the US or by blacksmiths in the US. I seriously doubt that a jail was fitted with those blacksmith locks.

Actually by examiningTom's book there were some 18 patents prior to 1831 but like many patents I see no indication that any of them were produced beyond the patent odels required at that time. In cheecking my own files I find that there were as many as 20 X patents for locks but again no indication of manufacture. It is too bad we can't get copies of all of those X patents but they went up in flame when the patent office burned.

Jails in the US were being locked with padlocks as late as the mid 1800's, especially in the west. If the padlocks didn't have a bullring shackle they were typically used with a chain. As near as I can tell fixed locks weren't used in very many jails until the late 1800's.
BBE.