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Imagination has brought mankind through the Dark Ages to its present state of civilization. Imagination led Columbus to discover America. Imagination led Franklin to discover electricity. Imagination has given us the steam engine, the telephone, the talking-machine and the automobile, for these things had to be dreamed of before they became realities. So I believe that dreams - day dreams, you know, with your eyes wide open and your brain-machinery whizzing - are likely to lead to the betterment of the world. The imaginative child will become the imaginative man or woman most apt to create, to invent, and therefore to foster civilization.” 

Innovation in the Wissahickon Valley: Local Inventors and Their Patents

This exhibit highlights inventors from the Wissahickon Valley region who earned U.S. patents in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It shows how local innovators contributed practical inventions that shaped industry and everyday life.

Thomas J. Whitney's Car Brake (1868)
Alfred Thomas's Photographic-Picture Holders (1874)
Jeremiah Frantz's Combined Corn Planter and Fertilizer Distributer (1882)
Curt Bush's Packing and Guard for Adjustable Spigots for Kegs, etc. (1891)
Amos R. Rosenberger's Apparatus For Removing Snow From Roadways (1896)
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