Spring, Is That You?

Spring in Brooklyn is often fleeting, lasting a month or two at most. With it brings relief from winter’s harsh weather, blooming flowers, and tepid evening breezes. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, spring also marked the return of sheep to Prospect Park. Every April, a large flock of Southdown, a breed known for its adaptability and good lambing abilities, returned to the grassy knolls of the park. Their annual homecoming was often chronicled in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, prompting one reader to proclaim: “Regardless of what the calendar says, we won’t believe that Spring is here until the papers run pictures of the sheep in Prospect Park parting with their wool coats.” Several long-standing shepherds, along with their faithful collies, tended the flock, which ranged from a few dozen to over a hundred sheep. These hornless and resilient mammals served as natural lawnmowers, nibbling away at the meadowlands until the late fall when they returned to their holding pens for winter.

Every May, the city hired professional sheep shearers to shear the animals. Depending on the size of the flock, the wool could garner upwards of $200 at public auction—the equivalent of over $6,000 today. In 1901, Brooklyn Parks Commissioner George V. Brower contemplated trading that year’s wool profits for white peacocks and other rare birds to beautify the park. A few years earlier, much to the dismay of Brooklyn animal lovers, the Department of Parks sold several lambs to a local butcher in exchange for guinea fowl. By the 1940s, the sheep had disappeared from the park. Today, their memory exists only in historic photographs like the one featured in today’s POTW and rare video footage seen here.

Interested in seeing more photos from CBH’s collections? Visit our online image gallery, which includes a selection of our images, or the digital collections portal at Brooklyn Public Library. We look forward to inviting you to CBH in the future to research in our entire collection of images, archives, maps, and special collections. In the meantime, please visit our resources page, or access the resources of the former Brooklyn Collection. Our reference staff are still available to help with your research! You can reach us at cbhreference@bklynlibrary.org.