Sarah Booone created the Cabinet Bed - Herstoric Endeavor

Girl, did you know a black woman created the “cabinet bed” a precursor to the murphy bed and pullout couch.

Born as an enslaved person in 1850 as Sarah Elisabeth Jacobs in Toledo, Ohio,She was the second of seven children of Oliver and Harriet Jacobs.. Sarah Goode's journey began against the backdrop of a nation grappling with the shadows of inequality as her birth year coincided with the enactment of the Fugitive Slave Act . Not much is known of her early years, but After the Civil War, the Jacobs family, like many others seeking a new beginning, made their way to Chicago as Illinois had some of the most progressive anti-discrimination legislation in the nation at the time. 

Of  note, chicago was found by a black man  Jean Baptiste Dusable in 1780. And the city's first black community was established  in the 1840s by  Fugitive slaves and freedmen. While living in chicago Sarah met and married Archibald "Archie" Goode, a skilled "stair builder" and upholsterer. They had 5 children, one of which was named after her mother, Sarah Boone

In 1885, Sarah and her husband opened  a furniture store at 513 State Street in Chicago. Most of their were working-class people who lived in small apartments that couldn’t fit a lot of furniture, including beds as during this time black people were confined to a certain areas  of the city and dwelled in tenements with height restrictions imposed by the government, This inspired Sarah to create  the folding cabinet bed. 

It was a bed, but could be folded up into a cabinet which took up much less space. Her  innovation focused on balancing the bed's weight during folding, securing it in place, and providing additional support at the center when unfolded. Her patent was granted on July 14, 1885, with patent number #322,177 and it laid the groundwork for the Murphy Bed  which  was patented in 1900. This made Mrs. Sarah Goode The first African-American woman to fully sign a patent  as Judy Reed was first, but she was illiterate and signed her patent with the letter ”X”.

Sarah Goode passed away on April 8, 1905 , leaving behind a legacy of innovative problem-solving and a groundbreaking invention. In 2012, the Sarah E. Goode STEM Academy, formerly the Southwest Area High School project, opened on the south side of Chicago in her honor. This science and math-focused high school collaborates with IBM, encourages students to graduate with industry certifications and two years of college credit, and offers professional mentors and internships, ensuring Sarah Goode's legacy lives on in the pursuit of knowledge and innovation. 

So the next you spend the night at your grandma house on her pullout couch, thank a black woman. Thank you for your life Mrs. Goode. We love you.