Henry Hooker
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Henry Clay Hooker (January 10, 1828 – December 5, 1907) was a prominent and wealthy rancher during the American
Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...
who formed the first and what became the largest American ranch in
Arizona Territory The Territory of Arizona (also known as Arizona Territory) was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of ...
. After growing up on the east coast, he married and traveled to California, where he established a hardware store in Hangtown. When it burned, he left for
Arizona Territory The Territory of Arizona (also known as Arizona Territory) was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of ...
where he partnered with others to supply cattle to the Army and Indian Agencies. When one of the herds stampeded, he found them in a verdant valley. He established the Sierra Bonita Ranch there. It became one of the largest ranches in the Territory and state of Arizona and was held by family members for several generations. He was a personal friend of
Wyatt Earp Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19, 1848 – January 13, 1929) was an American lawman and gambler in the American West, including Dodge City, Deadwood, and Tombstone. Earp took part in the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral, during which law ...
and aided him after the Earp Vendetta Ride.


Early life

Henry Clay Hooker was born January 10, 1828 in Hinsdale, New Hampshire on a farm that had belonged to his great-grandfather. His father was Henry C. Hooker Sr. (1791–1885), a descendant of early
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
leader
Thomas Hooker Thomas Hooker (July 5, 1586 – July 7, 1647) was a prominent English colonial leader and Congregational minister, who founded the Connecticut Colony after dissenting with Puritan leaders in Massachusetts. He was known as an outstanding spea ...
, and his mother was Mary Daggett. He was sixth among 10 siblings: Amelia Prentice, Julia Worthington, George Prince, Charles Gay, Anson Carey, Almira Ann, Minerva Sophia, Anson Carey, John Daggett, and Mary Rosella.


Marriage and move west

In 1848 he moved first to
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and then in 1849 to
Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...
. He worked for the
Indian Department The Indian Department was established in 1755 to oversee relations between the British Empire and the First Nations of North America. The imperial government ceded control of the Indian Department to the Province of Canada in 1860, thus setting ...
until 1852 when he moved to
El Dorado County, California El Dorado County (), officially the County of El Dorado, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 191,185. The county seat is Placerville. The County is part of the Sacramento- Roseville-A ...
during the
California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...
. He married Elizabeth Rockwell (born December 23, 1837 in
Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...
), daughter of Peter King Rockwell and his wife, Maria Dorcas (née Bell), on March 19, 1856. After trying his hand at mining, they moved to Hangtown, California (later renamed Placerville), in the 1860s. Henry started a mercantile business or hardware store and sold supplies to the miners. Once in a while Henry would buy and drive cattle east, over the Sierra, to sell to the
Comstock Lode The Comstock Lode is a lode of silver ore located under the eastern slope of Mount Davidson, a peak in the Virginia Range in Virginia City, Nevada (then western Utah Territory), which was the first major discovery of silver ore in the United ...
miners in the region around
Carson City Carson City is an Independent city (United States), independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the List of cities in Nevada, sixth largest ...
and Genoa, Nevada. His business flourished and he and Elizabeth had three children: Ida M. Hooker (born May 3, 1858), Edwin R. Hooker (born February 27, 1861), and Joseph M. Hooker (born September 4, 1863), who married Laura Butler Coffin on November 14, 1906. On August 10, 1865, a fire destroyed much of Hangtown including Hooker's business and residence. Henry and his family survived with only $1,000.00 (or about $ in today's dollars) that Henry had saved. Searching for a way to rebuild his capital, Hooker came up with the idea of delivering live turkeys to the miners of the
Comstock Lode The Comstock Lode is a lode of silver ore located under the eastern slope of Mount Davidson, a peak in the Virginia Range in Virginia City, Nevada (then western Utah Territory), which was the first major discovery of silver ore in the United ...
who were willing to pay top dollar for meat. He bought turkeys from a number of local ranchers at a generous price of $1.50 per head (about $ in present-day dollars). He hired a man, bought two dogs, and started over the Sierra Nevada with 500 turkeys. He almost lost the entire flock near his destination when they took flight at the top of a cliff, but was able to recapture the birds when they landed in the valley below. He drove them through the middle of Carson City and sold them for $5.00 per head, realizing a profit of about $1750 (about $ today).


Founds Sierra Bonita Ranch

Hooker, who was referred by the honorary title of "Colonel Hooker", arrived in the
Arizona Territory The Territory of Arizona (also known as Arizona Territory) was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of ...
with the profits from his turkey venture in 1867. He built up a cattle operation supplying beef to the military. He brought 10,000
Texas Longhorn The Texas Longhorn is an American list of cattle breeds, breed of beef cattle, characterized by its long horns, which can span more than from tip to tip. It derives from cattle brought from the Iberian Peninsula to the Americas by Spanish con ...
s from Texas in 1872. During one cattle drive in 1872 as they traveled between Mt. Graham and the Galiuro Range northwest of present-day
Willcox, Arizona Willcox is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States. The city is located in the Sulphur Springs Valley, a flat and sparsely populated drainage basin dotted with seasonal lakes. The city is surrounded by Arizona's most prominent mountain ...
, the cattle stampeded and were found grazing in a verdant valley with abundant water (Spanish ''
ciénega A ciénega (also spelled ciénaga) is a wetland system unique to the American Southwest. Ciénagas are alkaline, freshwater, spongy, wet meadows with shallow-gradient, permanently saturated soils in otherwise arid landscapes that often occupy ...
'') later named Sulphur Springs Valley. At elevation, it supported lush, tall grass. But the constant threat of Apache raids prevented permanent settlement until after the Civil War ended, when a U.S. Army post was built at Ft. Grant about to the east, and in the Santa Cruz and San Pedro Valleys, which helped to reduce the Indian raids. Hooker was impressed by the valley, and after the Apache threat was sufficiently reduced, in 1872 he decided to locate his ranch there. He named it the Sierra Bonita Ranch for the views of the nearby mountains. It was located on the site of a former Spanish hacienda in Sulphur Spring Valley that had been destroyed by the
Apache Indians The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...
in the early 19th century. The main ranch house was by . Soon after establishing the ranch, Hooker erected a small
adobe Adobe ( ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for ''mudbrick''. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is used to refer to any kind of e ...
fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
to fend off raids by the local
Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...
. They initially cost him numerous losses, both in personnel and equipment. The lush landscape allowed Hooker to pasture up to 15,500 head of cattle there at all times of the year. Hooker built a sound operation and his ranch was a key part in cattle production in the Arizona Territory that by 1891 supported 1.5 million cattle on the open range. Hooker was one of the few Arizona ranchers to survive a disastrous drought in 1891, which killed over half the cattle due in part to severe overgrazing. Efforts to restore the range-land between 1905 and 1934 had limited success, but ranching continued on a smaller scale. After the 1891 drought, he formed the Sierra Bonita Land and Stock Company, which extended ranching operations to supporting 20,000 head of cattle.


Associates

Hooker hired
Billy the Kid Billy the Kid (born Henry McCarty; September 17 or November 23, 1859July 14, 1881), also known by the pseudonym William H. Bonney, was an outlaw and gunfighter of the American Old West, who killed eight men before he was shot and killed at t ...
before he became famous during the
Lincoln County War The Lincoln County War was an Old West conflict between rival factions which began in 1878 in Lincoln County, New Mexico Territory, the predecessor of the state of New Mexico, and continued until 1881. The feud became famous because of the pa ...
. Hooker, like many ranchers and businessmen, supported the lawmen
Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...
and
Wyatt Earp Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19, 1848 – January 13, 1929) was an American lawman and gambler in the American West, including Dodge City, Deadwood, and Tombstone. Earp took part in the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral, during which law ...
. On March 27, 1882, after the Earp Vendetta Ride, Hooker hosted the Earps and their companions on their way out of the Arizona Territory.


Death and legacy

He died December 5, 1907 on his ranch. At the time of his death he was the wealthiest rancher in Arizona. As of 2005, the Sierra Bonita Ranch was operated by Mrs. Harry Hooker, granddaughter of Henry Hooker.