More than I could have imagined

As a former journalist, I made it a habit to dig through databases, government documents and other publicly available resources hoping to find an interesting nugget worth a story.

Inevitably, I always found something. I reveled in the search and the discovery. I felt I was a paid treasure hunter.

I'm no longer on a regular payroll for such endeavors, but I just can't keep myself from the hunt. I was scavenging through obscure online databases nearly two years ago when I stumbled upon patents. Leaving no stone unturned is a hallmark of good research, so I gave it a go not expecting to find much, if anything.

Tulare County is famous for a few things. Producing inventors isn't one of them.

I couldn't have been more wrong - and I can't tell you how pleased it made me to discover this on my own.

Not only has Tulare County produced a bumper crop of inventors; it appears no other surrounding county holds a candle to the brilliant light of innovation emanating from this area.

I'm still compiling a detailed database on inventors stretching back to the 1880s. So far, I'm up over 250 inventions, representing nearly 200 men and women inventors.

I told the story of one contemporary inventor - Marie Logan (pictured above) - in a cover story for Tulare County Magazine. 

What's more interesting than simply the sheer number and diversity of inventions is the history and personal stories behind some of the names on the list. It would be all too easy to compile the list and present it for mass consumption, but I think that would be a disservice to this rich history of ingenuity. So I'm hoping some extra research by myself and some help from readers will further broaden our understanding of this county's decades-long drive to create and innovate.