Willcox

Willcox is a small town with big shoulders.

It was labeled the Cattle Capital of the Nation in 1936 and to this day it still holds one of Arizona’s largest livestock auction. 

The Southern Pacific Railroad arrived in southeastern Arizona in 1880 and a decade later ranchers had 1.5 million head of cattle grazing in the Sulphur Springs Valley of Cochise County. 

Agriculture still operates on a massive scale here and water issues are contentious. A new dairy farm south of town plans to raise 150,000 cows on 37,000 acres. The Willcox area is one of the largest producers of pistachios. And corporate growers have more than 300 acres of hydroponic tomato greenhouses.

Plus, the area is known for wine grapes, apples, pecans, chili pepper seeds and cotton. Ten percent of the local jobs are in farming and mining. 

The town is named for Gen. Orlando Bolivar Willcox, U.S. Army commander in Arizona during the military campaign to subdue the Chiricahua Apaches.  The town of Willcox, originally called Maley, supplied Forts Bowie, Grant and Thomas after the railroad arrived. Geronimo surrendered in 1886.

Willcox also was an important shipping point for supplying mines in southeastern Arizona and Globe with freight wagons. In 1898, a spur rail line was built to Globe. 

Today, the original railroad depot serves as the Willcox City Hall. It’s Arizona’s only original redwood-frame depot built by the Southern Pacific Railroad. The 1880 depot had a waiting room added in 1920.

Willcox’s Old West lore includes a shootout in 1900 at the Headquarters Saloon. Warren Earp, brother of Tombstone lawman Wyatt Earp, was gunned down. He’s buried in the City Cemetery with a marked grave.

The town’s most famous son is Rex Allen, aka the “Arizona Cowboy” and “The Last of the Great Singing Cowboys” in Western movies. Allen (1920-99) is honored with a bronze statue by artist Buck McCain in the Railroad Park where his horse KoKo is buried.

Don’t miss the Rex Allen Arizona Cowboy Museum and Willcox Cowboy Hall of Fame across the street. An annual celebration of his life is Rex Allen Days in October. 

 Willcox was home to the Friends of Marty Robbins Museum just two doors away. Robbins (1925-82) was a native of Glendale, Ariz.
He was best known for his hit song “El Paso.” The Robbins Museum operated from 2008-20.  

A more recent country music star -- Tanya Tucker -- has roots in Willcox. Born in Texas, she spent her early years in Willcox and sang at talent shows with Rex Allen, Ernest Tubb and Mel Tillis. Tucker is in the Arizona Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame with Rex Allen and Rex Allen Jr. 

Rex Allen bronze by sculptor Buck McCain in the Willcox town park.

Other attractions in Willcox include the Chiricahua Regional Museum and wine tasting at area wineries. There are eight tasting ​rooms in Willcox wine country. Arizona Wine Country, a local consortium of growers,  says about 74 percent of Arizona wine grapes are grown in the Willcox region. 

Visit Tirrito Farm south of Willcox, which has a vineyard, dairy, restaurant and microbrewery serving craft beers. It also has glamping domes and luxury suites for overnight stays. 

Winter and spring attract bird-watchers to the Willcox Playa, a prehistoric dry lake that is a seasonal home to as many as 30,000 sandhill cranes. It’s quite a spectacle. The birds visit from as early as October to as late as March.  

Willcox is also the closest town to Chiricahua National Monument. The park, once known as the Wonderland of Rocks, is 75 miles away but well worth the trip.

Founded: 1880
Elevation: 4,182 feet
Population: 3,222

Visit nearby Chiricahua National Monument:
http://www.ontheroadarizona.com/chiricahua.html

Willcox's hometown hero -- Rex Allen -- is honored in the Rex Allen Museum and Willcox Cowboy Hall of Fame. He's known as the "Arizona Cowboy."

Willcox still has its original redwood frame railroad depot from 1880.

The restored Southern Pacific depot is now Willcox town hall.

Every town park needs a magnificent shade tree.

Barbecue is big in this historic cattle-country town.

Chiricahua Regional Museum is a repository of Cochise County history.

One of the many historic buildings in Willcox from 1900 and earlier.

The Rex Allen Museum is full of boots and suits he wore on stage. Next door the 1917 Willcox Bank & Trust building is now the Keeling Schaefer wine-tasting venue. A Marty Robbins Museum closed in 2020.

Tirrito Farm south of Willcox has six glamping domes for guests. The farm also has a vineyard, dairy, restaurant and microbrewery serving craft beers.

Warren Earp, brother of Wyatt Earp, is buried in the Willcox City Cemetery.

I just had to do a selfie in front of the Rex Allen mural in his museum.