B. F. Parks Sierra County, New Mexico

B. F. Parks, who is engaged in raising sheep near Lake Valley, is a native of Shelby County, Illinois, where he was reared and educated. His youth was spent upon a farm and he later dealt in livestock, so that it was with considerable practical experience that he entered upon his work as a sheep-raiser in New Mexico. In the interval, however, he became a practical miner, gaining a knowledge of the business in Colorado from actual experience. He went to that state in 1877 and spent five years there in the mines. In 1882 he came to Lake Valley and here began mining, locating and developing claims and prospecting until 1894. He then entered the sheep business, one of the first to engage in sheep-raising in Sierra County. He has given his attention to this industry for the past twelve years, and, although he started in a small way with only about seven hundred head, he is now running between two and three thousand head. He keeps high-grade sheep and is continually improving the breed. The business yields a gratifying financial income, and he is recognized as one of the enterprising and representative citizens of this part of the Territory.

He served in the militia during the Indian troubles of 1885, holding the rank of second lieutenant. He is married, and with his wife and children makes his home near Lake Valley.

Back | Sierra County Biographies

Source: History of New Mexico, Its Resources and People, Volume II, Pacific States Publishing Co., 1907.