in Ohio, among other patents related to barbed wire. Glidden eventually won at the US Supreme Court in an 1892 case, his patent protection expired the same year. The legal fees were estimated to have cost Glidden $100,000. This invention made him extremely rich. It was estimated that Glidden earned $1,000,000 in royalties until his patent expired in 1892. Companies manufacturing the barbed wire under his license ranged from New York state to Kansas by 1884. By the time of his death in 1906, he was one of the richest men in America. The Dun & Bradstreet Collection, 1840–1895, MSS 791, LXIII, 130, Baker Library, Harvard, recorded his assets at one million dollars. This included the Glidden House Hotel; the DeKalb Chronicle; 3,000 acres (12 km2) of farmland in Illinois; 35,000 acres (1,360 km2) in Texas; and the Glidden Felt Pad Industry. Local political activity and other businesses From 1852 to 1854, he served as sheriff of DeKalb County. In 1851, 1861, 1862, 1869, 1870, 1871, 1872, and 1876 he served on the county's board of supervisors. In 1867, he served on the executive committee of DeKalb County Agriculture and Mechanical Society's Seventh Annual Fall Fair, held September 25–28. In 1876, he was the Democratic nominee for Illinois State Senator. From 1861 to 1874, he served as a member of the board of school directors, and for 20 years paid the largest school tax of any citizen of the county. He was also one of the largest contributors to the erection of one of the churches. He was also vice-president of the DeKalb National Bank, director of the North Western Railroad, and owner of the DeKalb Rolling Mill. Demonstration of use in Texas changes ranching To demonstrate the effectiveness of barbed wire, Glidden and his sales agent for the State of Texas, Marques Fortner, in 1881 developed the "Frying Pan Ranch" in Bushland in Potter County near Amarillo, Texas. The wire was brought in by wagon from the railhead at Dodge City, Kansas, and the timbers were cut from Palo Duro Canyon and along the Canadian River Valley. A herd of 12,000 head of cattle was branded with the "Panhandle Brand", which the cowboys called " frying pan". The ranch proved the success of the wire and changed ranching. Henry B. Sanborn, a sales representative for Glidden's company, owned a ranch in Grayson County north of Dallas and wished to