Willcox

History

Originally known as "Maley", the town was founded in 1880 as a whistlestop on the Southern Pacific Railroad because of its position approximately halfway between El Paso, Texas and Phoenix, Arizona. It was renamed in honor of a visit by General Orlando B. Willcox in 1889. In the early 20th century, Willcox was a national leader in cattle production. Agriculture remains important to the local economy, but Interstate 10 has replaced the railroad as the major transportation link, and much of the economy is tied to the highway, which runs immediately north of the town. Willcox is the birthplace of Rex Allen, known as "The Arizona Cowboy", who wrote and recorded many songs, starred in several Westerns during the early 1950s and in the syndicated television series Frontier Doctor (1958–1959). Parts of the 1993 American neo-noir film Red Rock West starring Nicolas Cage, Lara Flynn Boyle, J. T. Walsh and Dennis Hopper were filmed in Willcox. A short film documentary called "Lonesome Willcox" released in 2018 documented the town's country music radio station KHIL. Willcox became Arizona's second federally designated wine-growing region in 2016.

Geography

Willcox is located in northern Cochise County, in the Sulphur Springs Valley. Interstate 10 serves the city with three exits and leads southwest to Benson and east to Lordsburg, New Mexico. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 2.13%, is water. {| class="wikitable" |- ! Mountain !! Height (base to peak) !! Rank (Arizona) !! Rank (US Lower 48) !! Miles from Willcox !! Peak Elevation !! Mountain Range |- | Mount Graham || 6,340 || 1 || 20 || 30 || 10,720 || Pinaleño Mountains |- | Mount Lemmon || 5,177 || 3 || 54 || 56 || 9,157 || Catalina Mountains |- | Chiricahua Peak || 5,149 || 4 || 55 || 40 || 9,759 || Chiricahua Mountains |- | Miller Peak|| 5,011 || 5 || 57 ||63 || 9,466 || Huachuca Mountains |- | Mica Mountain || 4,604 || 7 || 77 || 40 || 8,664|| Rincon Mountains |- | Mount Wrightson || 4,591 || 8 || 78 || 69 || 9,453 || Santa Rita Mountains |- | Dos Cabezas Peaks|| 3,244 || 19 || - || 11 || 8,354 || Dos Cabezas Mountains |- | Bassett Peak || 3,133 || 23 || - || 30|| 7,663 || Galiuro Mountains |- | Apache Peak|| 2,899 || 29 || - || 45|| 7,711 || Whetstone Mountains |- | Mount Glenn || 2,899 || 29 || - || 21 || 7,519 || Dragoon Mountains |}

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Willcox High School
  High · WILLCOX · 401 students · 16:1 ratio
• Willcox Elementary School
  Elementary · WILLCOX · 372 students · 16.2:1 ratio
• Willcox Middle School
  Middle · WILLCOX · 303 students · 15.9:1 ratio
• CTD - Willcox High School
  High · WILLCOX