Technological advances in the early to mid-1800s revolutionized communication and transportation. Samuel Morse combined existing technologies to invent the telegraph, allowing messages to be sent quickly over wires. The first transcontinental telegraph line was completed in 1861. In farming, John Deere invented the steel-bladed plow and Cyrus McCormick designed an efficient mechanical reaper. In the home, Elias Howe invented the sewing machine, later improved by Isaac Singer, making clothing production more efficient.