Yesterday
Who was the first collector of barbed wire? When did the barbed wire collecting start? Unfortunately there are not any definite answers to these questions. However, the establishment of the Texas Barbed Wire Collector's Association was the origin of the barbed wire collector clubs.

Forming an Organization
On November 28, 1965, "The Texas News" showed a film on TV about a roll of wire that had been found on the banks of the Trinity River below the Tarrant County Courthouse in Ft. Worth, Texas. Chuck Shytles called the station and identified the wire as Buffalo Wire patented by John C. Merrill. Other persons also called the station to identify the roll of barbed wire and the station put them in touch with each other. After several calls amongst themselves, a meeting was arranged on January 14, 1966, at the Arlington Texas State Bank. There were sixteen collectors present, one of which was Jack Glover. It was decided that a club be formed, and thus the Texas Barbed Wire Collector's Association came into being. Starting in 1966, annual conventions and shows were held every year with the first show being in Canyon, Texas. Membership ballooned to over 400 collectors in a short period of time. One of the major projects the association undertook was placing historical markers all over the state to commemorate barbed wire and individuals that were important in the history of barbed wire.

Publications
Starting in June of 1967, barbed wire magazines began being published including the "American Barbed Wire Journal" by Joe and Nelda January, and the "Barb Wire Times" by Brian Wolf. Soon other publications came into being including "The International Barbed Wire Gazette" in 1971, by Jack Glover, and "The Barbed Wire Collector" in 1983, by Charlie and Rosie Dalton. "The Barbed Wire Collector" is the only global barbed wire collector's magazine still being published.

Today
It is presumed that those people who attended the first meeting in 1966, had already begun collecting barbed wire or had some interest in collecting before this time. Today there are thousands of barbed wire collectors all over the world. Even though the Texas Barbed Wire Collector's Association has ceased to exist, it was the impetus for existing barbed wire associations today.