Watson Pickrell
4 Oct 1853 - 1907
diedArizona, USA
bornMechanicsburg, Illinois, USA
SchooltblData
BiographyFarmer and rancher.Came to Tempe in 1891.
Graduated from the University of Illinois in 1875. He then went with his brother, William S. Pickrell, to Gage County, Nebraska, taking with them 1000 head of sheep and a herd of Shorthorn cattle. In
1881 they drove their sheep from their ranch in Nebraska to Texas. After a few years in Texas the Pickrell brothers sold their sheep and returned to
their land in Nebraska. In 1891 he came to the Salt River Valley, purchased land, and established a ranch 3 miles southeast of Tempe, with sheep and cattle. Developed the Tempe Ostrich Company in the early 1900s. In January, 1893, he moved into a house in town.
He was a Trustee of Rural School District #13.
He was also interested in the development of the
University of Arizona, especially in the work of instruction and research in agriculture. He was an early cooperator with the University of Arizona Agricultural Experimental Station in date production and other projects.
OSB 36
BIO-Pickrell
Who is Who in Arizona (1958), p. 205
Lamb, Historical Overview of Tempe
Farley, Law Enforcement, 1 Aug 1975
Federal census, 1900
Double Butte Cemetery, Tempe
Person TypeIndividual
