A new name in the sheep industry in Arizona was found while researching newspapers from 100 years ago this month. The headline “Yuma Lambs Bring Good Prices in L. A. Markets was found in The Morning Sun, Yuma, March 24, 1923.  It seems that James Maxey had just shipped three carloads of lambs to the Los Angeles market. He had a ranch in the upper valley of Yuma.  Quoting from the article, “they were born after November 16, and weigh now slightly more than seventy pounds each. They were sold on contract for fourteen cents, which is considered a very good price. Mr. Maxey has gone quite extensively into sheep raising and he is of the belief that sheep raising for both wool and mutton will put the Yuma country on the map and bring more real money to the valley than many other lines of farming.”

The Yuma area did have other sheep families and their stories will be told as my research continues. More research of The Morning Sun, Yuma must be undertaken to see what other tidbits are found on Mr. Maxey and his sheep and the other sheep families in Yuma. I’ll keep you posted on my findings.

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