History of T. W. Jones and Sons
The heart of the Escalante Valley, in what is now the Beryl-Newcastle area of southern Utah, has always been in the heart of its first permanent settler, Thomas Willard Jones. He and his wife Sophia and their two young children Gwendolyn and Denton moved to Newcastle to work in connection with the newly formed Newcastle Reclamation Company. They arrived by way of a buckboard wagon driven by Thomas’s younger brother Lehi. Upon arrival Lehi had dumped their belongings on the ground and left for the long trip back to Cedar City which would take him most of the night for the return trip. That was Thomas and Sophia’s humble introduction into what was to become the home to generations of sons who would build a legacy of farming and ranching in the Escalante Valley.
The couple lived for the first little while in a little shack on the back of a wash owned by Sophia’s father, Neil Forsyth. From May 20, 1908, when the Articles of Incorporation of the “Newcastle Reclamation Company” were signed, Thomas and Sophia and their growing family worked hard to bring the results of a productive farm and a large cattle ranch. At the time, the T. W. Jones and Sons ranch and “cattle spread” became one of the largest in Iron County, Utah.
When the Newcastle Reclamation Company failed and couldn’t meet all of its financial obligations to Thomas Willard (T. W) and Sophia, they took their wages stock in the company out in property in the heart of the Escalante Valley. Thus the era of 5 generations of farming took root. The location of the farming-ranching operation changed from Newcastle to the spot where the ranch now resides. Over the years T. W. and his sons have not only farmed but raised various livestock and therefore have known the specifics and needs of various farm animals.
In the beginning T. W. and his two sons Richard “Dick” and Uriah raised sheep and had a successful cow-calf operation including a fattening/finishing lot for the cattle. It was looking like their rangeland was more suited for raising cattle than sheep, so in 1945 they sold the sheep and kept the cattle. This farming and ranching program continued until 1980 when the brothers Dick and Uriah now joined by Dick’s sons Mason and Steven ended the fattening/finishing lot and began concentrating on pre-conditioning their cattle and focused on becoming and back- grounding lot.
Then in 1984 the ranch again was in for another momentous change. With the death of Uriah, the ranch was divided, with his daughter Sophia and her husband Bill taking the cow-calf operation with headquarters at the old original homestead in Newcastle and rangeland in nearby Hamblin Valley. Dick and his two sons took the preconditioning feedlot and farmland out in the heart of the valley.
Again the focus of the operation seemed to be shifting as Mason and Steve took over the growing farming operation and were joined by Mason’s two sons Chris and Eric and Steve’s son Mark. The feedlot era ended entirely in 1995 when it became apparent that the need for good quality hay was needed for dairy feed and in the horse market and was more lucrative than the livestock portion of the ranch.
With the changing focus in each era of the farm/ranch’s operation, there was one thing that never changed. That was the good, rich land right in the heart of the Escalante Valley that grew the quality alfalfa that gave the ranch its reputation of excellence. With the help of each generation--and another one on the way—the farm is now concentrating on raising strictly the best alfalfa for dairies and horses. They know what each animal needs for good nutrition and they work hard to produce a weed-free, top quality hay for both dairy cows and horses and try very hard to please their customers.
