Dwayne E. Dobson

Inducted in 2013

Mar 4

Chandler - Maricopa County

Inducted in 2013

Dwayne E. Dobson's Sheep Company was among the last to maintain the spring tradition of walking his sheep the 220 miles from the Herb Reno Sheep Trail drive to the cooler climates around Greer. With the encroachment of civilization onto the once open lands, most of the remaining sheep renters who moved their flocks to the high country today do so by truck. The future of the sheep ranch in Arizona could be brighter; many are already out of business. The Dobson Family has sold most of their sheep and converted the grazing permits to cattle.

Dwayne is a third-generation Arizona Farm rancher. His grandfather's brother, Wesley Dobson, came to the valley in 1886 from Saskatchewan, Canada, where he was one of the oldest siblings in a family of 12. John Dobson's grandfather followed in 1892. The brothers homesteaded land around Baseline and Alma School Road (Phoenix), where they started dry land farming before the dams were built on the Salt River. They grew wheat and other grains, plus alfalfa, and they raised cattle.

John returned to Canada, where he married, returning to Arizona with his bride in 1919. About that time, the brothers began splitting up the farm, and John ended up with the land on Elliot Road between Dobson Road and Alma School Road. In 1929, John began to acquire a flock of George Scott in Las Vegas. For a couple of years, he grazed the sheep on the Indian reservations during the summer months but eventually bought the sheep at Spring Ranch.

For over 75 years, the Dobson family made the long track twice a year in the spring and fall, spending 52 days on the Heber-Reno sheep driveway east of the valley. "They leave in April," Dwayne Dobson said. "Sometimes, they would have to leave their farm. Granddad had farms in Tempe, Mesa, and Chandler."

The Dobson sheep would join the trail around Apache Junction. "They had state leases out there east of Apache Junction. Between Apache Junction and Florence Junction turnoff, there was a large Arizona State grazing ditch that the state used to have every year". They would arrive at the ranch at Greer on about June 1.

Young Dwayne grew up in an agricultural setting and learned from his father and uncles. His father bought the Bell Ranch in Chandler in 1954. Dwayne went to school in Mesa, where he participated in sports and was involved with FFA. After graduation in 1956, he enrolled at the University of Arizona. After completing his schooling, he returned to Chandler, where he began taking control of the family's agricultural operations. He built the acres farmed from a few hundred to several thousand operations, which were expanded to include a very large timberline River Ranch in Apache County, adding to the thousands of acres of deeded and forest service leases in the Sunrise area of the White Mountains. They currently run 1000 head of cattle on the timberline. Timberline and Spring Sheep allotments border each other closely in the Alpine area. Dobson is very concerned about the conditions of his land. Like most ranchers, he is a land steward, consistently taking measures to improve the quality of his livestock and the wildlife that shares the range of land with the grazing permit.

The Salt River Project has always been important to the Dobson family. Dwayne's grandfather was instrumental in helping to establish the Salt River Water Valley Users Association, which later became the Salt River Project.

In 1902, the National Reclamation Act was passed, providing government loans to reclaim the West with irrigation projects. According to Earl Zarbin, a historian at the Salt River Project, Roosevelt Dam was one of the first projects chosen. The farmers and ranchers had to organize to repay the government for the cost of building the damn of the Salt River Valley. The Uses Association was formed and incorporated on February 7, 1903. The farmers pledged their land to get financing for the Roosevelt Dam. John Dobson followed in his grandfather's footsteps and was the fifth Salt River Water Users Association president. Dwayne has been involved in the leadership of SRP for decades, serving on the council for four years and on the board for 39 years.

Throughout the years, Dwayne Dobson has taken an active role in several community and business organizations. He has served on the Arizona Cattle Growers Association board and has been the Arizona Water Producers Association president for the last 24 years. He was a founding member and past president of the chain Chandler Compadres, a group that supports youth. He holds a lifetime membership in the organization. He is also a past president of the Chandler Rotary Club.

An outdoorsman, Dwayne counts hunting among his favorite hobbies and is among the first to get the Arizona Big 10 when time allows. He loves saltwater fishing in Mexico and Alaska. Dwayne and his wife Caroll have been married for 50 years and have four children, 14 grandchildren, and a great-grandchild. They are all involved in agriculture to some degree.