Editing Willcox, Arizona (section)

==History==
Originally known as "Maley", the town was founded in 1880 as a [[whistlestop]] on the [[Southern Pacific Railroad]] because of its position approximately halfway between El Paso, Texas and Phoenix, Arizona. It was renamed in honor of a visit by General [[Orlando B. Willcox]] in 1889. In the early 20th century, Willcox was a national leader in [[cattle]] production. Agriculture remains important to the local economy, but [[Interstate 10]] has replaced the railroad as the major transportation link, and much of the economy is now tied to the highway, which runs immediately north of the town.

Willcox is the birthplace of [[Rex Allen]], known as "The Arizona Cowboy", who wrote and recorded many songs, starred in several [[Western (genre)|Westerns]] during the early 1950s and in the [[broadcast syndication|syndicated]] [[television series]] ''[[Frontier Doctor]]'' (1958–1959). Parts of the 1993 American neo-noir film ''[[Red Rock West]]'' starring [[Nicolas Cage]], [[Lara Flynn Boyle]], [[J. T. Walsh]] and [[Dennis Hopper]] were filmed in Willcox.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}} A short film documentary called "Lonesome Willcox" released in 2018 documented the town's country music radio station [[KHIL]].{{citation needed|date=November 2019}}

Willcox became Arizona's second federally designated wine growing region in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/travel/arizona/2016/09/13/willcox-wins-federal-designation-unique-arizona-wine-region/90094172/|title=Feds call Willcox unique Arizona wine region|first=Richard|last=Ruelas|website=azcentral}}</ref>