 Many farmers in Emmons County raised sheep, in addition to cattle. Rufus Childs and Jack McCrory had one of the largest sheep operations in Emmons County. Wool auctions happened at Braddock, North Dakota, one of the oldest existing towns in Emmons County. It was considered the Wool Market, given its proximity to the railroad. In October 1898 the Soo railroad line had reached Braddock, and the town was established. On July 06, 1900, The Emmons County Record reported that a caravan of wool wagons on their way to Braddock and stopped for an hour or two in Linton. The six heavily loaded wagons belonged to sheep raisers in the Dale neighborhood. Named were Jacob Loutzenheiser, Hal [Bio/Photo, Page 158] and his brother, Win [George W.] Tracy, Peter Knudsen, and William McTaggart of Westfield. Gerrit Brummel and Arnoldus Int Veldt also brought wool from Westfield, the “Dutch Shoe” community. Jack McCrory had brought wool from his ranches, but was dissatisfied with the offers from the wool buyers, and took his wool back home. It was understood that if the price was not right, the wool could be easily stored until the market improved.
The local newspapers began to carry regular advertisements from various wool buyers, offering to exchange wool for woolen goods, or ready-made clothes. Many farmers, if not sheep raisers, kept a few sheep for their household wool. But shearing, washing, carding, and spinning the wool was labor intensive, and the wool swaps offered from the woolen mills certainly made life easier for the pioneer woman.
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