Just one of the many Utah men who herded their sheep on the Arizona Strip.

Henry T. Atkin began to herd his father’s sheep in 1892 as his father had quite the flock. In 1893 he rented those sheep, 1500, from his father grazing them on Cedar Mountain, Utah, in the summer but took them to the Arizona Strip in the winter. He said in his diary that the land was free, grass plentiful and sheep did very well. In 1894 the state took ownership of the land and he had to purchase land to graze the sheep. First, he bought 160 acres from Mr. Jackson for $300. Next, he bought 1000 acres of state land for $1.25 per acre.  He wrote in his diary, “In this way I continued to get more land and got a good start in sheep.”

Marrying in 1884, he took on many jobs but it seems he did the best when he had sheep. While his growing family lived in St. George between 1893 and 1908, he was seldom home as he wanted to be out with the sheep, “trying to get a start and build up a foundation for the sheep business.” After 16 years in the sheep business, he sold them in 1908.  Whom he sold them to is unknown.

Between 1908 and 1916, he was involved in many activities in Utah which are not germane to this story. What is, is in 1916, he returned to the sheep partnering with Edward H. Snow and A. B. Andrus. They purchased 1,500 ewes at $7.00 a head. He soon bought his partners out. The year 1917 was a boom year for sheep as wool was used by the U.S. military for making wool uniforms for the soldiers. Lamb was also sent for their food.  Between 1916 and 1922 Atkin ran the sheep year-round on the Arizona Strip. He bought or constructed reservoirs for year-round use allowing him to move his sheep to meet the seasonal changes. But once again, he sold the sheep, now having grown to a flock of 2,000, to his brother for $10 a head, making a profit as he had when he sold his sheep in 1908.