Sierra Bonita Ranch is a site in Arizona that is significant for its association with Colonel Henry C. Hooker

Henry Hooker

Henry Clay Hooker was a prominent and wealthy rancher of the American Old West, and personal friend to lawman Wyatt Earp during the early 1880s.-Life:Henry Clay Hooker was born January 10, 1828 in Hinsdale, New Hampshire....

's cattle ranch, the first permanent American cattle ranch in Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

, located near present-day Willcox, Arizona

Willcox, Arizona

Willcox is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 3,769. Professional wrestler Ted Dibiase lived his formative years in Willcox, as did singer Tanya Tucker.-History:...

 overlooking the Sulphur Springs Valley

Sulphur Springs Valley

The Sulphur Springs Valley is a major valley in the eastern half of Cochise County, Arizona. The valley covers an approximated vertical rectangle west of the Chiricahua Mountains–Dos Cabezas Mountains complex; the Chiricahua's have a valley to the northeast, San Simon Valley, and to the southeast,...

. The ranch was first established by Hooker in 1872, on the site of a former Spanish hacienda, which had been destroyed by the Apache in the early 19th century. His main ranch house (photo) was large and rectangular, 80 by 100 feet (30.5 m), and had thick adobe

Adobe

Adobe is a natural building material made from sand, clay, water, and some kind of fibrous or organic material , which the builders shape into bricks using frames and dry in the sun. Adobe buildings are similar to cob and mudbrick buildings. Adobe structures are extremely durable, and account for...

 walls and gunports in the parapets. The water supply

Water supply

Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavours or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes...

 was plentiful and consisted of five springs, creeks that flowed in the spring and fall, and abundant, shallow groundwater

Groundwater

Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock...

 easily tapped by wells. This water gave Hooker control of a range approximately 30 miles (48.3 km) long and 30 miles (48.3 km) wide. Situated at 4000 feet (1,219.2 m) elevation, the ranch escaped extremes of heat and cold, and thus provided an ideal breeding range. In the 1880s Hooker improved his herds by importing Hereford

Hereford (cattle)

Hereford cattle are a beef cattle breed, widely used both in intemperate areas and temperate areas, mainly for meat production.Originally from Herefordshire, England, United Kingdom, more than five million pedigree Hereford Cattle now exist in over 50 countries...

 graded stock.

He became the largest military beef supplier in the Arizona Territory

Arizona Territory

The Territory of Arizona was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863 until February 14, 1912, when it was admitted to the Union as the 48th state....

. Initially, Hooker suffered heavy losses, both in personnel and supplies, due to Apache

Apache

Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...

 raids. Gradually he built his holdings until he controlled 250000 acres (1,011.7 km²) that carried 20,000 head. So soundly did he build that he was one of the few Arizona ranchers to survive the disastrous Drought of 1891. When he died in 1907, he was still the cattle king of Arizona.

Prior to the Lincoln County War

Lincoln County War

The Lincoln County War was a 19th-century range war between two factions during the Old West period. Numerous notable figures of the American West were involved, including Billy the Kid, aka William Henry McCarty; sheriffs William Brady and Pat Garrett; cattle rancher John Chisum, lawyer and...

, Billy the Kid

Billy the Kid

William H. Bonney William H. Bonney William H. Bonney (born William Henry McCarty, Jr. est. November 23, 1859 – c. July 14, 1881, better known as Billy the Kid but also known as Henry Antrim, was a 19th-century American gunman who participated in the Lincoln County War and became a frontier...

, then an unknown, was employed by Hooker. In 1881 and into 1882 members of the Earp faction

Wyatt Earp

Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp was an American gambler, investor, and law enforcement officer who served in several Western frontier towns. He was also at different times a farmer, teamster, bouncer, saloon-keeper, miner and boxing referee. However, he was never a drover or cowboy. He is most well known...

 used the ranch to resupply during and after the Earp Vendetta Ride

Earp vendetta ride

The Earp Vendetta Ride, lasting from March 20 to April 15, 1882, was a manhunt for outlaw Cowboys led by newly appointed Deputy U.S. Marshal Wyatt Earp. He was searching for men he held responsible for maiming his brother Virgil, the Tombstone Marshal and Deputy U.S. Marshal, and assassinating his...

, with Hooker's blessings.

The Sierra Bonita Ranch was declared a National Historic Landmark

National Historic Landmark

A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...

 in 1964.

Present appearance (2005)

The Sierra Bonita Ranch is an operating cattle ranch, owned (as of 2005) by Mrs. Harry Hooker, granddaughter of Colonel Hooker. The adobe ranch house has been remodeled inside, but it still retains the fortress-like appearance of early days. It is shaded by giant cottonwoods and surrounded by the original adobe corrals, bunkhouses, and barns. The integrity of the site is exceptional for three reasons: Continuity, appearance of the buildings, and the same magnificent setting that first attracted Col. Hooker. The ranch is not open to the public.

External links

• SIERRA BONITA RANCH, Arizona at National Park Service
• Henry Hooker and his Sierra Bonita Ranch