The Rain Bird horizontal action impact drive sprinkler head was invented in 1933 by Orton Englehardt, a citrus grower and native of Glendora. Its design offered slow rotation and uniform watering, benefits long sought by local irrigators. Clement M. LaFetra, a friend of Englehardt, urged an early patent application, and a patent was awarded on December 18, 1933. Englehardt, who had no entrepreneurial aspirations, assigned all rights to LaFetra and his wife, Mary Elizabeth. Production began in the LaFetra family barn on October 13, 1935. An ancient belief among certain American Indians that a bird brought rain, combined with the sprinkler's application of water like raindrops, led to the name Rain Bird. Sprinkler irrigation commonly enhances efficient water use, and the impact sprinkler led to development of sprinkler irrigation that now exceeds fifty million acres worldwide. In the U.S.A., more than one-third of all irrigated land is irrigated by sprinklers, including sandy and sloping land that cannot practically be irrigated by other methods. The impact drive sprinkler head had a major effect on agriculture in the world.

Photo: Craig Baker

Photo: Craig Baker

Photo: Craig Baker

Glendora, California · USA