HOG ISLAND SHEEP
Hog Island sheep are a
breed that descend from English sheep brought to America in the
1700's by colonist to
Northumberland county Virginia. Today, the breed is endangered and
preserved by organizations because of its relevance to American
history and is thought to have traits somewhat lost in more modern
breeds.
First a bit about Hog
Island itself, laying off the Delmarva Peninsula coast of Virginia,
one of the so called barrier islands southeast of Exmore and Willis
Wharf in Northampton county, Virginia. It is four miles long and two
miles wide, Hog Island was colonized in the 17th century
soon after the Jamestown Colony. It is thought John Smith first
discovered the island and noted it was full of a small species of
bear living in the cane breaks which were numerous on the island.
Earliest history records dated 1672 is a “letter patent” to grant
tracts to a group of colonist, 23 men and two women. They were so
isolated from the world that there is no history to be told.
The Indians named it
Machipongo which means fine dust and flies. Mosquitoes made the
island uninhabitable to them and they only visited certain periods of
the year to fish and hunt. A waste land, full of swamp grass, sea
meadow fields , fit only for grazing herds of wiry cattle.
At one time it had a town,
Broadwater, forty famlies and a Life Saving Station and lighthouse,
all gone since 1930 when a storm brought flooding and erosion . Most
of the homes at Broadwater were moved by barge to Willis Wharf area
on the main lands. Hog Island is now under ownership of Virginia
Coast Reserve of the Nature Conservancy.
When the Hog Island
population left the island, the most of their stok of sheep were left
to survive on their own. They became feral, hardy and efficient in
foraging and reproduction, forming a distinct breed with fewer than
200 sheep. There is a society of private owners doing research and
conservation and The United States Department of Agriculture's
National Animal Germplasm Program.
What are the Hog Island
Sheep good for ? Mainly for their wool which is medium fine to
medium course, can be colored silver, caramel or dark brown, easily
carded, spun and felted.
Source: April 4 2017 Cape
Gazette / wikipedia.org / fingerlakeswoolen mill.
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