Fred & Peggy Davis
Davis Family L-R: Jared, Peggy, Fred, Macy, Marlo, Zane and Beau.
Tombstone - Cochise County
Inducted in 2021
The Davis Ranch is located twelve miles southeast of Tombstone in Cochise County; right on the divide between the San Pedro and Sulphur Springs Valleys. Fred Davis is descended from early Cochise County pioneers and is a fourth-generation cattle and horse rancher. His wife Peggy was raised on a cattle ranch in Wetmore, Colorado. The couple were married in 1972 and Peggy left the Colorado snow for a warmer Arizona climate.
Fred was born in Douglas on July 6, 1951 to parents Houston and Bennie Lucille (Bennett) Davis. He grew up with two sisters, Zona Lorig and Lucille Febbo. Peggy is the daughter of George and Leona Draper and a third-generation rancher at the family ranch.
Fred’s great-grandfather on his mother’s side was William Fourr, who came to Arizona in 1862. His daughter, Daisy Belle, married Fred Bennett, who had come to Cochise County in 1895. He worked for Colonel William Greene as the wagon boss on the Boquillas Ranch at Fairbanks.
William Cowan, who came to Tombstone in 1880, was Fred’s great-grandfather on his dad’s side. William’s daughter Edith married Bill Davis, who homesteaded about five miles from where the Davis Ranch is located. Bill worked for the Chiricahua Cattle Company when he arrived in Cochise County in 1897. He soon struck out on his own and began buying small places after his original homesteading. The Davis Ranch was the last place acquired by Bill Davis and his two sons, Clarence and Houston. Fred and the Davis Ranch was included in the Arizona Centennial book 100 Years 100 Ranchers by Scott T. Baxter.
Fred graduated from Tombstone High School and attended Cal Poly University for a year, then Arizona State University for a year and a half. In 1988, Houston’s health worsened and Fred’s parents moved into town leaving Fred and Peggy to take over the ranch.
The Davis Ranch runs mainly Beefmaster cows and use registered Red Angus bulls on them. The family has been involved in various cattle grower organizations through the years. Both of Fred’s grandfathers and two of his great-grandfathers were at the first Arizona Cattle Growers’ Association meeting in 1903. Fred is currently serving ACGA as the Cochise County representative. He has also followed in his father’s footsteps as President of Cochise Graham Cattle Growers.
The couple has done a lot of work and made improvements on the ranch over the years. Fred began working on the fences, both boundary and division, helping to control the time and duration of grazing. The water distribution was improved ending up with over 90% of the ranch within a mile of water. The past eight years has seen a lot of chemical brush management on both mesquite and shallow-rotted plants (whitethorn, creosote, and tarbush). The ranch has been part of the Whitewater Draw Natural Resource Conservation District for the past twenty years. This has been a huge help with both technical assistance and cost-sharing through the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Peggy is the clerk for the Conservation District and also the Education Director. The purpose is to assist local farmers and ranchers with projects that protect their water and soil conservation, and to keep them abreast of the most current methods and technologies available to sustain their farms and ranches for future generations. The Education Center helps local agriculture students with providing local workshops and travel expenses for out of town events.
Fred has been a member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboy’s Association for over forty years and has a Gold Card now. He also belongs to the Senior Pro Rodeo Association. He roped at the PRCA National Finals and was the Turquoise Circuit Champion Team Roping Heeler. He has also won the Oakdale Ten Steer average in California. In 2019 Fred was the National Senior Pro Rodeo Champion Team Roping Heeler.
All the horses Fred has won on were raised, broke and trained by the Davis Family. The horses on the ranch are direct descendants or grandsons of the ranch’s bay stud, Otos Desire, a grandson of Montana Doc. Some of their horses originally came from the Draper Ranch in Colorado.
His talent with horses led him to be involved in the movies. Peggy’s dad, George Draper, got Fred a job in Colorado on the movie “Comes a Horseman,” in 1977, and he has been doing movie work ever since – wrangling, stunts and bit parts. He is a member of the Screen Actors Guild and has worked on about forty movies over the years. One is the best known movies he worked on was “Braveheart” in 1996. One of the scenes was actually filmed in Benson, Arizona.
While Fred was busy with the movies, Peggy volunteered for various community services. She was a 4-H Leader in Cochise County for five years and served on the Arizona State 4-H Committee. She also served as President of the Miss Rodeo Arizona, Inc., and supervised their scholarship program as well as serving on the Miss Rodeo America Advisory Council.
The Davis Ranch is twenty-five miles from the Arizona/Mexico border and the location has been a challenge with illegal border crossers. Many crossing through the ranch are bringing drugs and people with them. Fred’s life was permanently changed one morning when he walked into his barn and found thirteen illegal aliens sleeping on the floor. He and Peggy travel to Washington, D.C. each year to participate in the “Hold Their Feet to the Fire” gathering of talk-radio shows sponsored by the Federation of American Immigration Reform (FAIR). They have been interviewed by a number of American and international journalists. Both feel problems at the border effects our nation’s security and have met with members of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senators when they have visited Arizona regarding border issues. Peggy testified before the Sub-Committee on Homeland and Maritime Security in September of 2016 regarding the failed policy of Defense in Depth by the U.S. Border Patrol. Peggy also writes articles on border issues for the Arizona Cattlelog.
Fred and John Ladd worked with Arizona Game and Fish in creating a video production for education purposes depicting farmer and rancher’s views regarding hunting, land management, wildlife conservation and sportsmen’s access as well as the associated impacts of recreational uses on private, State and Federal lands. The commission honored both men with Commendations of Achievement.
The couple’s two children both live on the ranch. Son Jared as well as daughter Marlo, husband Beau Compton and their children Zane and Macy all help on the ranch. Three generations of the family rope in their ranch arena. Fred says roping with his grandchildren has invigorated him. It is as much fun as the law allows.
Affiliations
Fred Davis
Arizona Cattle Grower’s Association
ACGA Board Member – Cochise County Representative
President – Cochise/Graham Cattle Grower’s Association
White Water Draw Conservation District
Professional Cowboys Rodeo Association – Gold Card Member 40+ Years
Senior Pro-Rodeo Association
Screen Actors Guild
Peggy Davis
White Water Draw Conservation District
Arizona Cattle Grower’s Association
Cochise/Graham Cattle Grower’s Association
Past Cochise County 4-H Leader & Arizona State 4-H Committee
Miss Rodeo Arizona Inc.
Miss Rodeo America – Advisory Council
