William Jarvis - Weathersfield, VT
Posted by: 
NorStar
N 43° 21.300 W 072° 24.433
18T E 710116 N 4803503
William Jarvis, Consul to Lisbon, was first to import Merino sheep to the U.S.
Waymark Code: WMF98Y
Location: Vermont, United States
Date Posted: 09/13/2012
Views: 9
In Weathersfield, along US Route 5, is a sign about William Jarvis, who brought in Merino sheep into the country.
The sign is located in front of a house on the east side of the road, about even with the front door of the house. On the other side of the road is a pasture.
The sign has the following text on it:
"[Logo]
William Jarvis
Consul to Lisbon was first to import Merino sheep to U.S.
- . . . -
In 1811 Consul Jarvis brought from Spain to his farm in Weathersfield Bow the prized Merino sheep, whose longer fiber revolutionized the woolen industry and stimulated sheep raising throughout the East. In the 1830s Merinos were the state's principal livestock.
Vermont Historic Sites Commission"
William Jarvis was born in Boston, MA, and went to schools in Boston, Philadelphia, and New Jersey. After almost losing his fortune after paying off the debts of a friend, he bought a clipper ship and moved to Europe, where he built up a successful business called William Jarvis and Co. From his business, he became familiar with Lisbon, Portugul, and eventually, President Thomas Jefferson appointed him Consul there. From his position, he was able to purchase 4,000 merino sheep and smuggled them from Spain, which had a monopoly on this favorable breed of sheep. A few sheep were given to Jefferson and James Madison, but most went to his new estate purchased in Weathersfield. He prospered for a while, selling his wool to the mills in Queechee and elsewhere. By 1830, the sheep were the leading livestock. However, soon Jarvis was undersold by foreign competition, and was unable to secure any tariff protection.
Source:
Wikipedia (William Jarvis (merchant)):
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