 In 1899 John M Kramer, Fred Heckman and Henry Synck, Jr., all of whom lived in the small farming community of Maria Stein, OH were awarded a patent for a device to spread manure which they named a "manure distributor".Synck subsequently worked with his future father-in-law, Joseph Oppenheim, to develop the first practical manure spreader.Oppenheim's 1900 invention was so successful that it spawned a major manufacturing company, the New Idea Spreader Works, later renamed the New Idea Farm Machinery Company in 1899.