Sarah Boone is the story of a woman who etched her name in history with an invention that revolutionized an everyday chore: ironing. Sarah Marshall, was born into slavery in Craven County, North Carolina, near the town of New Bern, on January 1, 1832. It was a time when laws forbade teaching Black individuals to read, a deliberate attempt to maintain power through ignorance. Boone’s path to freedom began when she married James Boone (or Boon) in 1847, a free man and moved north. The Boone family left North Carolina for New Haven, Connecticut, before the outbreak of the American Civil War.
In this new environment, she seized the opportunity to educate herself, learning to decipher technical documents and diagrams. It was this newfound knowledge that empowered her to pursue her passion for innovation. Employed as a dressmaker in New Haven, Connecticut, Boone encountered firsthand the challenges of ironing garments with intricate designs. The prevailing methods of using tables or makeshift boards were inadequate for the task, especially when it came to pressing garments with delicate details like tiny waistlines and full sleeves. Unlike its predecessors, her invention was designed with precision, featuring elements that catered specifically to the pressing needs of garments.
Boone’s ironing board was a revelation in efficiency and convenience. Sarah Boone, made a change to the ironing board to make it easier to iron sleeves and the bodies of women’s clothes without adding creases. Boone’s ironing board was designed to improve the quality of ironing sleeves and the bodies of women’s garments. She conceived a way to invent the modern-day ironing board. The board also used a support system to flip the garment to its other side, enabling the user to iron both sides of a sleeve. This meant that the ironing of one side would not be undone by the ironing of the other side. She said she wanted a way “to produce a cheap, simple, convenient and highly effective device, particularly adapted to be used in ironing the sleeves and bodies of ladies garments.”
With its collapsible design and padded sides to prevent unwanted impressions, Boone’s ironing board was a game-changer. The significance of Boone’s invention extended beyond mere functionality. It symbolized empowerment and possibility, proving that barriers could be overcome with determination and creativity. On April 26, 1892, she obtained the United States patent rights for her improvements to the ironing board. Boone is regarded as the third Black woman to attain a patent, after Judy Reed for a dough kneader and roller, September 23, 1884, and Sarah Goode for a folding cabinet bed on July 14, 1885. Her patent was confirmed in 1892.
Sarah’s invention embodies the spirit of innovation that transcends boundaries of race and gender. Along with Sarah E. Goode, Ellen Eglin and Miriam Benjamin, Sarah Boone was a pioneering Black woman inventor who developed new technology for the home. Despite her groundbreaking achievement, Boone’s legacy remains shrouded in mystery. Historical records offer scant evidence of her commercial success or recognition. Tragically, she passed away in 1904, leaving behind no letters, papers, or pictures to illuminate her story. Yet, even in obscurity, Boone’s legacy endures as hope and inspiration. Her invention embodies the spirit of innovation that transcends boundaries of race and gender.
Prior to Sarah Boone invention women were forced to resort to simply using a table or being creative in laying a plank of wood across two chairs or small tables. This pioneering Black woman’s invention removed the drudgery of ironing to make it a lot more easy.