All of our sheep are registered pure-bred American Tunis. This wool blanket is from our
ram Judah's 2022 virgin fleece. His fleece was hand-washed, hand-scoured, hand-dyed, hand-carded, hand-spun, and hand-knitted specifically for this auction. It was truly a labor of love by Mr. Matt's mom and her friends with the Georgia Sheep and Wool Association.
Washing instructions: DRY CLEAN ONLY
The name Tunis describes this heritage breed's
connections to foundation stock from Tunisia in North Africa. North African sheep were imported to the United States as a gift by the Bey of Tunis to George Washington in the late 1700s. The pair was placed with Judge Richard Peters of Belmont, Pennsylvania, who made rams available and gave away lambs to help spread this sheep breed to others.
References to these sheep appear in letters, journals, and farm records of some of the leading agriculturists and citizens of the day, including John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Richard Peters, Charles Roundtree, and George Washington Custis. Gradually, a uniquely American breed was created from this stock. Tunis sheep were a recognizable breed by the late 18th century to early 19th century making them one of the oldest breeds of livestock developed in America.
Tunis sheep spread throughout the mid- Atlantic and southeastern United States and were well adapted to the heat and humidity of these regions. The Tunis was the mainstay of sheep production in the upper South and mid-Atlantic regions until the Civil War, when nearly all Southern stock was destroyed. Credit for saving the breed from extinction at this time is given to Maynard Spigener of South Carolina. During the war he protected the last flock of Tunis by hiding them on his land along the Congoree River near the city of Columbia. After the war the Great Lakes region and New England became strongholds for the breed. It is only recently that the Tunis has again been seen in the Southeast.
