HUSS, Saxton

Saxton Huss was the eleventh child of Christian and Catherine Rathbun Huss. Saxton left Ohio in 1876 with a surveying crew. In 1900 he purchased 56 acres of land in Yuma Valley, Arizona, only 6 acres were cleared. On September 17, 1901 Saxton arrived in Yuma with his family. Saxton got a job as a zanjero or "ditch-rider". He would regulate the water in the canals and open and close the gates to the fields and ranches. When the US Bureau of Reclamation built Laguna Dam, Sac gave up his job. Along with his job as a ditch rider, Sac cleared his land, built a house, planted and harvested his crops. At one time he took care of bees and sold honey. He started a dairy and had a home delivery route in Yuma. He started a seed cleaning business in the mess hall of the Territorial Prison after it was abandoned as a prison. Later he built the Alfalfa Seed Cleaning Plant. He added lumber and paint and called it the Alfalfa Seed and Lumber Company. He helped organize and build the Valley Baptist Church and gave land and building materials for a Nazarene Church. Sac married Leanah Blye Clevinger on July 3, 1879 at Breckenridge, Texas. Sac and Leanah had six children: Lillian Catherine, Margaret Olive, William, Arti Lucinda, Atlee Earl, and Joseph Virgil.