Cedar Sheep Association Collection

The Cedar Sheep Association was formed in the spring of 1869 upon the advice of Brigham Young. The association was a well-managed, dividend-paying company, with most of the far-sighted people and organizations of southern Utah among its stockholders. By 1879, there were more than 5,000 sheep in the cooperative herd, and shareholders had sufficient mutton for home use and thousands of pounds of wool for women to card, spin, weave, and knit. After wool needs of the town were met, the balance was hauled to Provo or Salt Lake City to trade for groceries and hardware, all of which was brought to Cedar City and sold in the co-op store. Stockholders could draw dividends in merchandise from the "sheep store", which lasted for some years after the sheep and land were disposed of in 1917.