Empire Ranch

Empire Ranch is a working cattle ranch in southeastern Pima County, Arizona, that was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. In its heyday, Empire Ranch was one of the largest in Arizona, with a range spanning over 180 miles, and its owner, Walter L. Vail, was an important figure in the establishment of southern Arizona's cattle industry.

History

Establishment

Empire Ranch is located on the eastern slope of the Santa Rita Mountains in Cienega Valley, fifty-two miles southeast of Tucson and about ten miles north of Sonoita. The property overlooks a shallow depression called Empire Gulch, through which a spring-fed rivlet bordered by cottonwoods courses eastward to Cienega Creek. The surrounding meadows are "thickly covered" with sacaton and salt grass. Tucson businessman Edward Nye Fish first occupied the site of the ranch in 1871, but it is uncertain whether or not he built the original four-room adobe house and corral, which may have already been there when he arrived.