WILLCOX Cowboy Hall of Fame inductees

HARRY SAXON (2)
1882-1964
1987 COWBOY HALL OF FAME POSTHUMOUS AWARD

Harry Saxon was typical of the cattlemen esteemed by the people of the communities in which they lived. When he died he left behind a personal history of success and honesty as a peace officer, legislator and rancher.

Born on July 24, 1882, in San Gabriel, California, Saxon came to Arizona when he was eight years old, settling on a Calabasas homestead with his widowed mother and four brothers and sisters.

When the Saxon family bought a few cows in 1891, it became Harry's responsibility to look after them. As a boy, he grew familiar with the business of raising cattle on the open range.

At the age of 21, he became a mounted livestock inspector, and for three years he and five companions patrolled the Mexican border from the New Mexico line to Yuma. At 24, Saxon was elected to Sheriff of Santa Cruz County.

He maintained his ranching interests even while he served as a peace officer, and returned full-time to ranching when he retired from law enforcement.

In 1926, Saxon organized the Three Links Cattle Company near Willcox, keeping up to 5,000 head of cattle through two droughts and two periods of economic depression in the cattle industry. Later, he became Mayor of Willcox, and served in the House of Representatives of the First Arizona Legislature.

Harry Saxon died in 1964. He was 82 years old.