Tag: Empire Ranch
Walter Vail left his mark on SE Arizona as Rancher, Miner and Political Figure
by Tom Prezelski On July 3, the Pima County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution declaring “Empire Ranch, Walter L. Vail, and Arizona Cowboy Heritage Day” to honor the legacy of one of the most storied Anglo-American pioneers of 19th century Southern Arizona. While his career as a rancher and miner were significant enough, it was his […]
Alision Bunting: The Empire Ranch Story Part IV—The search for the Right Ranch
By Alison Bunting Walter Vail and Herbert Hislop began their search for a ranch to purchase soon after their arrival in Tucson in early July, 1876. Hislop wrote: “Rested and just looked round the town for horses to buy, but did not succeed. Had more offers of ranches, it is astonishing how quickly one’s […]
Alison Bunting: The Empire Ranch-the trip from the Colorado River to Tucson
By Alison Bunting Last month’s article described Walter Vail and Herbert Hislop’s trip from Los Angeles to the Arizona Territory border, crossing the Colorado River near Blythe, CA. The next phase of the journey took four days in early July of 1876. On the Arizona side of the Colorado was the community of Ehrenberg, the […]
Alison Bunting: The Empire Ranch-Partners travel from San Francisco to the Colorado River
By Alison Bunting Last month we introduced Walter Vail and Herbert Hislop who first met in San Francisco and set out for Arizona Territory to make their fortune in ranching. Hislop wrote about the journey in a diary style letter to his grandmother. “We took steamer to Los Angeles which took us 3 days and […]
Alison Bunting: The Empire Ranch-How it all began
Walter Vail. He and his partners were instrumental in getting the Empire Ranch in southeast Arizona started in the late 1870s By Allison Bunting 2016 marked the 140th anniversary of the establishment of the Empire Ranch which began with the purchase of a 160 acre homestead north of present-day Sonoita by Walter Lennox Vail and […]
Voices of the West, 10-21-17, Authors Gail Corkill & Doug Hocking
Empire Ranch Cowboy Christmas a big hit
By SoAzNewsX What is a Cowboy Christmas? It is celebrated essentially at the end of a cattle drive or a rodeo. At the Empire Ranch this year, Cowboy Christmas was a bit different celebration. The event opened up the historic Empire Ranch to the public who got to see the Empire decked out in Christmas splendor. […]