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The Edwards Plateau area of southwest Texas has long been associated with the sheep and goat industries of the state. Both sheep and goats were significant elements of the local economy, having been introduced to Texas by Spanish explorers and late-19th-century colonists. In 1869, rancher Phillip Palmer brought the first sheep to the Fort Clark area, and his operation grew to a flock of nearly 9,000 sheep. Within a few years, Charles Dissler began Val Verde County's goat industry, bringing his animals with him from Kimble County. In 1915, ranchers met in Del Rio to organize the Texas Sheep and Goat Raisers' Association to bring a halt to a wave of stock thefts. The organizational meeting, held at the Princess Theater on this city block, was called by five prominent ranchmen: J.B. Murrah, Johnson Robinson, E.E. Sticklen, V.A. Brown and B.M. Halbert. Sixty stockmen attended, and 30 signed the charter, originally naming the group the Sheep and Goat Raiser's Association of Texas. Members chose Murrah, of Del Rio, as the group's first president, and Julian Lacross, also of Del Rio, as secretary-treasurer. The headquarters moved to San Angelo in the 1930s, and a split within the association resulted in the creation of the rival Texas Wool and Mohair Growers Association. The two groups merged in 1935 as the Texas Sheep and Goat Raisers' Association, with a statewide agenda that included advocacy, research and promotion. Today, the association is an important trade organization and political force. Although the association had its beginning in Del Rio, the headquarters is in San Angelo, which is now more central to Texas' sheep and goat industries. (2005) |
