And the West is History: Dipping sheep at Railhead – ca. 1924

In 1878, sheep outnumbered cattle in La Plata County, 11,800 to 4,600. Originally, public land was considered open range and anyone could graze cattle or sheep on the land without restriction. Conflicts between sheepherders and cattlemen were common. In 1906, a permit program was established for grazing livestock in the national forests of Colorado and separate allotment areas were established. This decreased tensions. Sheep were shipped from various railheads for many years including Hermosa, Hesperus and Arboles in La Plata County. Here, sheep are prepared for shipping by dipping in troughs containing pesticides to prevent the spread of parasites in the flock. – Ed Horvat for Animas Museum, edhorvat@animasmuseum.org (Catalog Number: 81.07.173 from the La Plata County Historical Society Photo Collections)