Woman of the Week - Sarah Goode

Sarah Goode was an African American entrepreneur and inventor. She’s the first African American woman to officially receive a U.S. patent.

Technically, Judy W. Reed was the very first African American woman to patent an invention, but she didn’t sign hers. She only wrote “X” on the patent for an improved dough roller design.

Goode was born in 1850 to a family of slaves in Toledo, Ohio. When the Civil War ended, the family was granted freedom and moved to Chicago, Illinois. There, she met Archibald "Archie" Goode who she married and had six children with. Archie was a builder and upholsterer; the family opened a furniture store to sell their goods.

As customers came in to shop, they all seemed to have similar issues. Many lived in small, working-class apartments and didn’t have much room for furniture or storage. Average sizes of tenements were about 25 feet wide and 100 feet long.

She came up with an idea – a combination bed and desk that folded up when not in use.

When the bed was folded up, the piece served as a fully functioning roll-top desk for work or reading. At night, the bed would fold out. Along the sides were drawers and compartments for storage as well.

Her creative solution helped people feel less cramped in these small apartments and served as a precursor for other space saving inventions, like the Murphy bed.

She applied for a patent in 1885 and became the first African American woman to ever be granted one in the United States.

Sarah Goode died in Chicago in 1905 and is buried in Graceland Cemetery.