William A. Paxton (January 26, 1837 – July 18, 1907) was an American pioneer businessman and politician in Omaha, Nebraska.
"[4] Paxton was born in Springfield, Kentucky on January 26, 1837,[5][6] and raised there until age twelve when his family moved to Missouri.
Employed by a local farmer, by the age of fifteen he started his own business breaking prairie sod for new settlers in the area.
The next year he worked for Edward Creighton's crew installing the Western Union Telegraph between Omaha and Denver.
In 1865 he bought a team of horses from Creighton and started his own freighting business, operating between Omaha and Denver until 1867.
[9] Paxton next bought cattle at Abilene, Kansas, and drove them to Omaha, where he sold them and used the money to go into ranching near Ogallala, Nebraska.
[14] In 1878 Paxton helped form the first Union Stockyards Company in Omaha, but soon afterwards it was moved to Council Bluffs, Iowa.