Skip to main content

A Quick Stopover in Willcox, AZ

Image
By

Located along Interstate 10 in far southeastern Arizona, the quaint city of Willcox was born during the same post-Civil War period as the nearby (and previously discussed) city of Lordsburg, NM. In fact, Willcox was founded in the same year (1880) as its New Mexico counterpart and for the same initial purpose – as a ‘whistlestop’ rail town along the newly-constructed southern transcontinental railroad route made possible prior to the Civil War by the Gadsden Purchase of 1854. Like Lordsburg a short distance to the east, this town’s location was optimal given its location at the midpoint between other junctions of interest such as Phoenix and El Paso.

When initially settled in 1880, the town was known as Maley, but was renamed in honor of Gen. Orlando Bolivar Willcox in 1889. A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point (class of 1847), Willcox served in the Union army during the Civil War, attaining the rank of Major General while leading troops into battle at some of the War’s most memorable battles, including Bull Run, Antietam, and Petersburg. Willcox had visited this small community (then still known as Maley) on one of his cross-country journeys and the town’s folks chose to honor the occasion by naming their settlement in honor of the Union general. Today, Willcox is a city with a population of about 3,500. It’s one of the larger settlements in Cochise County, created in 1881 from land formerly belonging to neighboring Pima County. One of the more interesting (and perhaps counterintuitive) industries this area is known for is grape growing. Upwards of three quarters of all wine grapes grown in Arizona come from the Willcox area, one of two such federally-designated wine growing regions in the state.

Unlike its counterpart Lordsburg, Willcox did not develop at a U.S. Highway crossroads; US 191 does pass through town on a multiplex with I-10, but this designation is a relatively new one to the area – it only began existing in the 1990s. The historic U.S. Route designation that *did* pass through town at one time was the infamous US 666 (aka “Devil’s Highway”), which was extended southwestward from New Mexico in the early 1940s on a path toward the Mexican border near the town of Douglas. Through Willcox, 666 followed Haskell Avenue downtown; this stretch of the former U.S. Route is now signed as an I-10 Business Route. Following the decommissioning of US 66 in 1985, Arizona officials began petitioning to have the “cursed” 666 number eliminated from its route roster – a move finalized in 1992 with the extension of US 191 along much of the old US 666 corridor through the state. There are no signs indicating the presence of the Devil in this part of Arizona anymore, but the roads that were once home to this quirky and memorable piece of route-numbering history are still alive and well today, waiting for you to discover them for yourself.

Located along Interstate 10 between Tucson and Lordsburg (served by Exits 336, 340, and 344), it’s a popular stopping point for long-distance drivers along the interstate that connects this region with cities such as Phoenix, Los Angeles, and El Paso. There are several hotels & restaurants either in town or along the interstate through the area and yours truly chose one of these hotels for an overnight stay in February 2020. Please enjoy this series of photos I gathered during this quick stopover in town:

Above: Scenes along the Interstate near town


Above: Entering town from the south on AZ 186



Above: Junction with Interstate 10 & AZ 186 north of downtown



Above: Passing through Willcox westbound on Haskell Avenue (I-10 Business Route, former US 666)


Above: Passing through Willcox eastbound on Haskell Avenue (I-10 Business Route, former US 666)

How to Get There:


Willcox, AZ city website

Labels:
Location: Willcox, AZ 85643, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The 1915-era Teilman Bridge (the only known Concrete Pony Truss Bridge in California)

By
The Teilman Bridge is a semi-abandoned structure over Fresno Slough west of Burrell siding near the intersection of Elkhorn Avenue and Elkhorn Grade.  This structure is the only known Concrete Pony Truss Bridge constructed in California and was designed by Ingvart Teilman.  Teilman's Bridge would open in late 1915 when the Elkhorn Grade was the primary road between Fresno and Coalinga.  The structure would be replaced in 1991 but was left standing as it carries pipelines over Fresno Slough.  Part 1; the history of the Teilman Bridge In the early Twentieth Century the most direct highway between Fresno and Coalinga followed the Elkhorn Grade.  The Elkhorn Grade began at Fresno Slough a short distance west of Burrell siding.  From Fresno Slough the Elkhorn Grade followed a generally southwestern course through San Joaquin Valley into the Kettleman Hills towards Coalinga.   The Elkhorn Grade can be seen on the  1914 C.F. Weber map of Fresno Coun...
1 comment
Read more

The Dummy Lights of New York

By
  A relic of the early days of motoring, dummy lights were traffic lights  that  were  placed  in the middle of a street intersection. In those early days, traffic shuffled through busy intersections with the help of a police officer who stood on top of a pedestal. As technology improved and electric traffic signals became commonplace, they were also  originally  positioned on a platform at the center of the intersection. Those traffic signals became known as  " dummy lights "  and were common until  traffic lights were moved  onto wires and poles that crossed above the intersection.  In New York State, only a handful of these dummy lights exist. The dummy lights  are found  in the Hudson Valley towns of Beacon and Croton-on-Hudson, plus there is an ongoing tug of war in Canajoharie in the Mohawk Valley, where their dummy light has been knocked down and replaced a few times. The dummy light in Canajoharie is currently...
Post a Comment
Read more

Prunedale Road (Monterey County)

By
Prunedale Road is a short 2.6-mile-long frontage corridor of US Route 101 in the namesake Monterey County community of Prunedale.  Prior to 1932 US Route 101 bypassed Prunedale in favor of the San Juan Grade to the east.  Prunedale Road along with nearby Moro Road served as an alternative connecting highway between Salinas and San Juan Bautista.  Following the realignment of US Route 101 onto the Prunedale Cutoff the former through route along Prunedale Road would be rendered as a western frontage.   Part 1; the history of Prunedale Road Prunedale Road is located in and is named after the Monterey County community of Prunedale.  Said community was founded near the junction of San Migeul Canyon, Langley Canyon and Echo Valley.  Watsonville settler Charles Langley (namesake of Langley Canyon) was one of the prominent early community settlers.  The Prunedale Post Office would open for the first time in 1894 but would close by 1908.  Early agricu...
Post a Comment
Read more