Vermont's Merino Sheep Boom

Dublin Core

Title

Vermont's Merino Sheep Boom

Subject

Fields

Description

Charlotte, Vt. This tool was used in small and large scale wool production to separate the wool from the sheep before the invention of the electric shearer.

East Shoreham, Vt. In 1840, there were more Merino sheep in Vermont than humans — a total of 1,681,819 sheep.

By the 1830s, Vermont had as many as 80 textile mills in order to keep up with Merino wool production.

Esther Munroe Swift writes: “This is a good example of what much of Vermont looked like after the sheep craze had ended and much of the land could not support any crops because of the over-grazing by the sheep.”

Source

Photos: UVM Special Collections
Woodcut: UVM Special Collections
Sheep Shearers: Windy Corner Farm

Date

Photos and Woodcut [1830-1900]
Sheep Shearers

Coverage

Danville, VT
Shoreham, VT
Charlotte, VT
VT

Files

4.5x3.3danville_mill003.jpg
8.5x4.5fieldphotosmerino2.jpg
7x3.6sheep003.jpg
Fields1.jpg
MerinoCollage1.jpg

Tags

Citation

“Vermont's Merino Sheep Boom,” Omeka@CTL, accessed March 28, 2024, http://libraryexhibits.uvm.edu/omeka/items/show/1828.

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