The Stephens Mink Ranch was operated in Wytheville, Virginia, by G.S. Stephens, the general manager. At one point, the ranch claimed to be the "World's Largest Mink Farm".

The general manager of the Stephens Mink Ranch was G. S. Stephens. He is likely Garland Sanders Stephens, who is listed as a superintendent of a fur farm in Wytheville, Virginia, on the 1930 U.S. Census.

Stephens was born to Stephen Sanders and Mary Swepson (Pritchard) Stephens on March 8, 1904, in Wythe County. He married Francis Morehead (1908-1977), and they had three daughters: Mary, Helen, and Mildred.

In the 1930 and 1940 censuses, Stephens is listed as operating a farm, presumably the Stephens Mink Ranch. During World War II, he worked at the New River Ordinance Works in Pulaski, which was operating under the U.S. War Department. By the 1950 census, both Garland and Francis were dealing in antiques.

Stephens died on November 13, 1998, and is buried alongside his wife in the Saint Johns Lutheran Church Cemetery Sauers in Wytheville.

External Sources:

U.S. Federal Census, 1910-1950

"Garland Sanders Stephens" in the U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/10854863:2238, accessed January 24, 2024.

"Garland Sanders Stephens" in the Virginia, U.S., Birth Records, 1912-2015, Delayed Birth Records, 1721-1920, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/8092128:9277, accessed January 24, 2024.

"Garland Sanders Stephens", Findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/38567435/garland-sanders-stephens, accessed January 24, 2024.