The exact history of sheep and agriculture in general during the 1800’s is difficult to interpret because farming was taken for granted, and few bothered to write about it. For example, in one 700 page volume of NH history, written in 1889, less then 2 pages were devoted to agriculture. The author begins, “In 1825, farmers were simply farmers and nothing more.” And in this same volume, the author wrote ,”Every farmer kept a flock of sheep, and wool constituted a large portion of clothing.” Scant information, considering that in 1840, there were, on average, 65 sheep per square mile in the state, more then twice the number of people living in NH at the time. Though little is written about sheep, it none the less was important to the economy of the times. For example, the town of Walpole was one of the largest raisers of sheep in 1836 . With nearly 15,000 head, Walpole’s economy was entirely based on sheep for many decades.

Early settlers found the hillsides of NH to be more attractive for farming because one didn’t have to contend with the swampy lowlands, and clearing land by hand with animals was easier to do on the drier hillsides. Early farmers soon discovered that the NH hillsides were perfect for raising sheep.

Up through the first couple of decades of the1800’s, agriculture was based on diversity and near self-sufficiency. Until the midpoint of the century, settlers primarily produced goods for their own use. Once the railways opened, however, this all changed. Soon wool from New England could be shipped all over on the railways. It was during the development of these markets that “Merino mania” hit New England..

The Merino sheep is originally from Spain, and produces a superfine, super soft wool. The breed was of great economic importance to Spain, and was not released for export until the 1830’s. Because Merinos have been bred for superfine wool that is densely compacted on the skin of the sheep, their wool “clip weight” tends to be higher than other breeds of sheep. This made them very popular in New England. Back when Merinos were first introduced in the 1830’s, the price for a purebred Merino ram, could range anywhere from $800 to $10,000, with their wool bringing at least $1.00 per pound. This price was due partly to the fact that there was a tariff on imported wool, and due to the fact that the west was not yet fully opened, and sheep farming was still largely isolated to the New England states. As a result of these high prices, most of the southwestern part of NH was completely stripped of woodlands and was covered in sheep for the better part of the 1800’s. This “Merino Mania” lasted from 1830 to 1870. The peak of sheep farming in NH was reached in 1840, with approximately 617,000 sheep in the state.

As the settlers began to move west, it was discovered that it was easier and cheaper to produce wool in the Midwest due to the price and availability of grazing land. The price of wool began to drop, and New England farmers began to move west.

Following the slump in the 1840’s and 50’s, there was a short term boost to the wool industry during the Civil War. Since cotton could not reach the mills in the north, the fine wool of the Merinos was in great demand once again, and the price of wool increased to $1.00 per pound once more, filling the army’s need for wool blankets and uniforms. When the war ended, and cotton came back from the south, the price of wool dropped again. After the war, entire flocks were sold for as little as $.30 to $1.50 per sheep, even including some Merinos.

In 1893, the tariff on wool was raised, and foreign competition from Australia, New Zealand and South American further drove the price of wool down.

By the end of that century, the raising of sheep in New Hampshire was no longer profitable due to competition and rising costs of production, and by 1951, there were less than 10,000 in the entire state.

During the first couple of decades of the 1900’s, the population of New Hampshire who were left after the post civil war emigration to the west, began to “drift down hill”, making their settlements in the valleys. The trend began with the utilization of water power, first for saw and grist mills, later for carding and fulling mills. The valleys, once cleared for farming became easier to cultivate than the hillsides when farm machinery (starting in the 1950’s) came into use. In addition, farmers in the valleys were able to make use of the railway system that generally traveled along the flatter riverbanks to ship farm products.

It was during this transitional time that we saw a rise in the number of mills along the rivers on New England, and New England began to change from a primarily agricultural society to a budding industrial society—