Patent model
On July 31, 1790 inventor Samuel Hopkins of Pittsford, Vermont became the first person to be issued a patent in the United States. His patented invention was an improvement in the "making of Pot Ash by a new apparatus & process." These earliest patent law required that a working model of each invention be produced in miniature.
Charles Redheffer
On July 11, 1820, the U.S. Patent Office granted a patent to Charles Redheffer (or Charles Redheiffer) for a device listed as "machinery for the purpose of gaining power". (Unfortunately, all patents up to 1836 were lost in the 1836 U.S. Patent Office fire. If recovered, it would be X-Patent X3,215.)