SVGZ Graphic: New England - New York Sheep Craze - 1840

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If you ever wonder why there is so many stone walls in the woods, the answer is the Merino Sheep Craze of the 1830s, when the ultra-soft, itch-free Merino wool reached a record breaking price of 57 cents/pound in 1835.
 
During the height of the Sheep Craze there was over one million sheep in Vermont, and 271,000 sheep in Rutland County alone -- and in Addison County more then 350 sheep per square mile. Forests were cleared, stones pulled out of fields and pilled up as fence rows to keep sheep in.