Gnoming began in America before it was even a single nation. Many early settlers already had folk gnoming traditions they carried with them, but it wouldn't be until 1753 that Henry Haliburton began to organize gnoming efforts more formally. He made an effort to learn and preserve traditional gnoming techniques, and combined European and indigious practices. Most of his circle didn't stay in the US after the war, but brought his innovations back to the United Kingdom and laid the foundations of the British Gnome Society are firmly rooted in his work. So one could truthfully say that modern gnoming is an American invention. It is also around this time that the form of the common gnoming handle stabilized into a form we would recognize today.
1800's - Gnoming in the Industrial Age
1851 - Spiritual Awakening and the Foundation of the American Society of Gnomers
1940's - Gnoming during WWII
1960's to Present day: The American Society of Gnomes and The Modern Age of Gnoming