J. Charles Wetzler
J. Charles Wetzler, 1961
Phoenix - Maricopa County
Inducted in 2017
One of the founders of the Phoenix Stock Show (later called the Arizona National Livestock Show), J. Charles “Charlie” Wetzler spent most of his life working in and for agriculture in Arizona. Among the honors bestowed on him was an honorary Doctor of Laws degree by Arizona State University “for distinguished contributions to his state, community and industry, and especially for his service to Arizona higher education.”
Charlie was a rancher, cattle feeder, farmer, agricultural scientist, successful businessman, member of the Dysart School Board, and one of the organizers of the Northern Arizona Cattlemen's Association.
Born in Los Angeles in 1907, he moved to Arizona when he was 16 to help his father with his sheep operation in the northern part of the state. A few years later he struck out on his own to go into the cattle business. By the 1930s he had developed a homestead near the Petrified Forest in Northern Arizona. Soon he and Rans Spurlock developed a partnership known as the Spurlock and Wetzler Cattle Company.
In about 1944 his family moved to Phoenix to begin feeding cattle. In mid ‘40s Spurlock & Wetzler bought land in a location that became known as Lizard Acres because of a reported remark made by Charlie’s wife Catherine. On seeing the property for the first time she took one look and commented that nothing could grow there but lizards.
In the early to mid 1950s Spurlock and Wetzler amicably dissolved their partnership. Charlie took the Phoenix area operations and formed Circle One Livestock Company Incorporated to operate the Lizard Acres feedlot, which became one of the largest in Arizona. As a rancher Charlie was always concerned about water in Arizona. In 1953 he became a board member of the Maricopa County Water Conservation District and later served as its president. In 1967 he was elected as chairman of the Central Arizona Project Association. He continued in that capacity until his death in 1983.
In a memorial to Charlie in their March 10, 1983 edition the Arizona Republic wrote, ”No man did more than J.C. “Charlie” Wetzler to bring the dream of the Central Arizona Project so close to its present reality.” They went on to say, “Wetzler, 75, a cattleman, who operated a ranch where Sun City now stands, is best remembered for his stabilizing influence during the battles in Arizona and Washington over shaping the CAP as a concept and winning friends in Congress.” In 1982 Charlie was named Pioneer Stockman of Arizona. He passed away in Phoenix in 1983.
