17 Awesome All-American Inventions for DIYers

AMES TOOLS: OLDER THAN THE U.S.

Captain John Ames started manufacturing shovels in West Bridgewater, MA, in 1774?that’s before the American Revolution! Shovels were in high demand in the young expanding country, and business was good. During the California gold rush, Ames shovels were so valuable that they were sometimes used as currency!

President Lincoln personally asked Oakes Ames (son of Captain Ames) to supply shovels for the Union cause during the Civil War. During WWII, Ames produced armored tank plating, shell casings and 11 million of those familiar folding entrenching tools. In 1928, Ames shovels proved themselves invaluable on Richard E. Byrd’s expedition to the South Pole.