Gribblenation

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’...