Sheep Dip Crossing
by Brent Evans
There is a low water crossing at the corner of Boerne's River Road (FM 46 East) and Herff Road that is locally known as "Sheep Dip Crossing". That name always struck me as strange, ever since I arrived here some 34 years ago. Though I asked many long-time residents about the origins of the name, no one could remember.
What could this low-water crossing have to do with sheep dip? What's sheep dip? For parasite control, sheep are usually dunked in a water-based pesticide solution in a dip vat - a long, narrow, concrete-lined trench. Why would a shepherd want to dunk his sheep in pesticide in or near a creek, where the stuff could be so quickly washed off?
All these musings about the history of Sheep Dip were rekindled a few years ago, when I met an old-timer, Vernon Norris. We got to talking, and he mentioned that his father worked for Dr. Herff on the old Herff Ranch. This was my wife's family, so we chatted about the ranch and talked about the old times. Then, the obvious question popped into my head: "Mr. Norris, do you know how Sheep Dip Crossing got its name?"
He began his version of the tale at once, in a raspy voice, "Well, it was in nineteen and thirty two. Joe Zoeller and Louie Weidner wuz drivin' a buncha sheep from the Herff Ranch up to Oscar Bergmann's place. They wuz gonna push ‘em across the Cibolo (pronounced "SEE blow") there at the low crossing below the dam at Herff Road."
He laughed to himself and went on. "Now, you know the "Seeblow" wuz nuthin' but a little trickle, about a few inches deep and a few feet across, but you dontcha know those sheep wuz just balkin' and refusing to cross that creek. Those boys had to git off their horses and drag the whole herd across that mud hole one at a time. It took all afternoon. They wuz both sheep faced and covered with mud and stinkin' to high heaven before it wuz all over. Well, the whole town came out to watch. People wuz laughin' at them boys for days, and took to calling the spot ‘Sheep Dip Crossing' just to tease 'em."
"That's it?" I asked, stunned that the name could stick for seventy years with such a humble beginning. "Yep," he answered, shaking his head at his old friends.
I have heard other versions since then - it was where the old timers washed their sheep before taking them to the Kendall County Fair; or, there was a dug out spot near the creek where they dunked the sheep in pesticide. No version was as picturesque as Mr. Norris's.
Sheep Dip CrossingToday, Vernon Norris, Joe Zoeller, Louie Weidner and
Sheep Dip Crossing Oscar Bergmann would not recognize old Sheep Dip Crossing. Major construction has diverted Esser Road, and Fritz Houston's house was moved away. The new trail head for Boerne's Old # 9 Hike- and-Bike Trail, a portion of the Cibolo Greenway, is located nearby. The crossing is a major intersection with bridge, traffic light, turn lanes, and the occasional clearing of brush by heavy equipment. Just downstream from the bridge is a thickly wooded area with some of the most important nesting sites for birds in the entire Cibolo Nature Center vicinity.
The nature center purchased that little wooded spot a few years ago. I'm glad that Sheep Dip Crossing can continue to host the whistling tree ducks, and turtles, and young waders. I hope the next generation will preserve as much of what is beautiful and memorable as they can, the great places and the small, so our grand-kids can put their feet in watery spots like Sheep Dip, and giggle about old shepherds who got so wet and muddy, and how everybody laughed, and experience the precious wonder of the Cibolo and all its creatures.
