On Thursday, February 8th, Dr. Barbara Jaquay will present “Sheep Ranchers and Herders of Arizona” at 10:30 a.m. at the Wellton Library. The story of the sheep industry is told through personal family memoirs and photos, including families from the Wellton-Mohawk area. There is no charge to attend.
Although not one of the “five C’s” (Copper, Cattle, Cotton, Citrus and Climate), sheep ranching was a viable economic activity of the 1800s in Arizona. Basque, Canadians, Danes, and others arrived in the mid to late 1800s to graze sheep on thousands of acres. Today, there are less than 20,000 sheep, and only a couple of Basque families are still involved.
Dr. Barbara Jaquay, a historical geographer, recently published Where Have All the Sheep Gone? Sheepherders and Ranchers in Arizona – A Disappearing Industry. She has traveled extensively on all seven continents and visited over 40 countries. Dr. Jaquay has a B.A degree in Anthropology, a M.A. in Geography, and a PhD. in Historical Geography.
The Wellton Library is located at 28790 San Jose Avenue in Wellton. For more information, call (928) 785-9575.
This program is made possible by Arizona Humanities and the Friends of the Wellton Library.