We had an ambitious plan: to grow the finest wool in this country and to re-introduce Merino sheep to New England. Once a wool grower’s pride and joy, the Merino sheep had all but disappeared from New England farms. With the rising popularity of synthetic fibers in the forties and fifties and sinking wool prices, the fine-wooled sheep had lost favor with farmers.

100% natural is popular again

The early eighties brought re-newed interest in all things natural, including natural fibers for clothing. And fine Merino wool became the industry standard for luxuriously soft wool. 100% pure Merino Wool was (and still is) a coveted label for high-end wool clothing. The chances for a fine-wool Merino sheep operation to succeed looked promising to us.

The first American superfine imports

In 1987 we imported the first two superfine Merino rams from Australia into America. Superfine Merino are bred in Australia and New Zealand for their superior fine wool. Now our breeding program involved testing and re-testing of our wool for fineness to make sure that our stud rams were producing high-quality progeny. Not only fineness of wool mattered to us, we wanted our fleeces to be brilliantly white, dense and long stapled.

Best-selling Merino rams

With fine wool prices at an all-time high, progeny of the two super-fine rams attracted a lot of attention at stud ram sales across the country. We were busy delivering rams from Texas to Wyoming, and California to Maine. Within three years we had surpassed our five-year business plan and Merino sheep were, once again, a familiar sight at New England Country Fairs and Shows.

Our sheep and wool have won many prestigous awards and our stud rams can be found at leading fine-wool sheep ranches and farms across the country and Canada.

Morehouse Designs

In 1988 we started a new venture called Morehouse Designs. We processed our fine Merino wool into knitting yarn. We also added rare black Merino sheep to the flock. By mixing wool from white and black Merino sheep, we were able to produce new shades of natural colored Merino yarn.  
> Blending black and white wool for natural colors.
And we put together a collection of ready-made items: hats, mittens, scarves, and sweaters, all knit and woven with our Merino wool. What started as a small shop on the farm led to a growing mail order business and a big, spacious store a mile from the farm.

With knitting becoming the hottest new hobby, Morehouse Merino yarn and knitting kits are gaining in fame and popularity daily. And harsh winters bring customers from all over through our doors in search of soft, no-itch hats and felted mittens and our fabulous collection of hand woven scarves and shawls.