Sierra Bonita Ranch-Jesse Hooker Davis
Jesse Hooker Davis
Willcox - Graham County
Inducted in 2025
Henry Clay Hooker grew up on the east coast, married, and headed west to California, establishing a business in Hangtown. In 1867, he brought his wife Elizabeth and his family to Arizona Territory, where Hooker partnered with Captain Hugh Hinds, who had obtained a U.S. Government contract to supply beef to military posts and Indian Agencies in the Territory. Hooker followed that contract with another by partnering with pioneer cattlemen William B. Hooper and James M. Barney in a similar venture.
Family legend says that a herd of Hooker’s cattle stampeded, and his ranch hands found the cattle in what later became known as Sulphur Springs Valley. Hooker liked the valley with its abundant water and strong grass. He decided to establish a ranch there in 1872, making the Sierra Bonita one of the first established ranches in Arizona. It is one of the oldest cattle ranches in the United States, and its buildings have been designated a National Historic Landmark.
The ranch eventually included lands in Graham and Cochise Counties. By 1885, Hooker bought other nearby ranches, making the Sierra Bonita the largest ranch in the Territory, totaling 800 square miles. Hooker was committed to quality livestock, and in the 1880s, he improved his herds by importing Hereford-graded stock. Hooker bought six purebred stallions and ran over 500 brood mares that produced horses that became known for their speed, beauty, and temperament. The ranch farmed 1,000 acres of alfalfa and timothy hay.
Branding the Crooked H, the ranch was established on the site of a Spanish hacienda and became a social center in the southeastern Arizona Territory. It was a meeting place where government officials, scientists, authors, artists, and military men and women enjoyed its hospitality. Anyone was welcome at Hooker’s table, but they had to dress the part. Men had to wear a jacket, which he would provide if they didn’t have one. It is said that Hooker called himself a cattleman, not a cowboy and dressed as a New England gentleman and known to all as the Colonel.
When it came to ranch hands, all were welcome. Hooker accepted men as they were, without regard for how they looked or talked. Even the likes of Billy the Kid and Wyatt Earp were known to sped time around the Sierra Bonita. Hooker once said; “We know when he throws his saddle on his horse whether he understands his business or not. He may be a minister backsliding, or a banker saving his last lung, or a train robber on vacation - we don’t care… All we care about is, will they stand the gaff?”
Son Edwin R. Hooker married Forrestine Cooper, daughter of General Charles L. Cooper of the 10th Cavalry and Buffalo Soldiers at Fort Grant in 1885 united the ranching family with a military family. Six generations of the Hooker family have lived at Sierra Bonita, making it the oldest ranch in the state, is continuously occupied and operated by one family. After Colonel Hooker’s death on December 7, 1907, his son Edwin R. took over the management. Later, the reins were turned over to Harry E. Hooker, who reinstated the farming operation and built a feed mill. After Harry died in 1952, their son-in-law William A. Hughes with Jacqueline H. (Rinki), moved in to manage for Mrs. Harry Hooker. Her son, Charles Hooker Davis, and grandson, Jesse Hooker Davis, represent the fifth and sixth generations of Hookers to carry on a proud family tradition. Jesse continues the legacy of Sierra Bonita history, raising Hereford cattle, the breed that established the ranch. He expanded the holdings of the Sierra Bonita when he purchased the Lightning Ranch belonging to his late father, Charles, keeping the original holdings of the ranch intact.
Jesse was born in Arizona, grew up in San Diego, and visited the ranch for roundups. He played football when he attended Cornell University. Jesse was president of the Cochise-Graham Cattle Growers and represented Graham County on the Arizona Cattle Grower’s Association board. He has been honored as a Conservation Rancher.
When asked about being the sixth generation to run the ranch, Jesse says, “This is bigger than me. It isn’t about me. It’s just my turn to take care of it. Being a legacy operation in any business is something special and unique. I sometimes lose sight of the generations before me when doing business work daily. Still, it’s precisely what drives me to succeed, strive to be sustainable, and represent the cattle business and agriculture favorably and beneficially. Thanks to my forefathers, the passion, hard work, and drive run through my veins.”
Affiliations
Arizona Cattle Growers Association
Cochise/Graham Cattle Growers
Awards
Conservation Ranch of the Year
