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The Empire Ranch homestead was originally a four-room adobe building without windows and doors. Improvements were made such as adding a kitchen, pantry, cook's room, and business office. Further improvements were made with the arrival of Walter's new bride in the summer of 1881.
School children and horses in front of the Empire School. E.L. Vail owned the building and leased it out in 1897 to be used for the school which was near but not part of the ranch.
Harry Heffner on a horse with a lasso at the Empire Ranch. Harry Heffner was the ranch manager from 1900 to 1905. He started with Empire Ranch in April of 1893 helping to gather the cattle on Catalina Island to be shipped to Kansas.
Harry Heffner branding a steer at the Empire Ranch. The Empire Ranch used several brands including the heart, the letter V and the initials VH. 200 to 250 calves branded in a day was considered a big branding day's work.
Three men posing for a picture in 1879 after Edward L. Vail ("the tenderfoot's") arrival at Empire Ranch. Walter L. Vail and Herbert R. Hislop bought the Empire Ranch on August 22, 1876 from E.N. Fish and Silverberg. John H. Harvey was brought on as the third partner in the Empire Ranch in October 1876 to help with expansion and money issues. Edward L. Vail (Walter's older brother) arrived at Empire Ranch on May 14, 1879 to be the new partner after Hislop departed in March 1878.
The holding gate at the Empire Ranch. A holding gate keeps animals in the holding area so they can be sorted out.
Men on horses rounding up broncos. Tom Turner one of the foremen at Empire Ranch was known as a hard boss and his roundup hours were rather early and rather late which didn't please many cowboys.
The railroad Walter Vail and his partners used to ship cattle to other locations such as Kansas City, St. Louis, Chicago and California. The prospect of shipping cattle to Eastern buyers caused ranchers to improve their herds and occupy the remaining open range.
Walter Vail's home on the Empire Ranch. When Walter Vail's wife arrived on the ranch in the summer of 1881, Walter improved the house with an eight-room addition including two bedrooms, a living room, a dining area, and a covered porch. The structure had twelve-foot high ceilings, three stone fireplaces for heating, and a fashionable half-hexagon bay window opening off the living room.
On horseback at the mouth of Rosemont Canyon (c.a. 1896 - 1898) are Edward L. Vail, older brother of Walter L. Vail and partner in Empire Ranch, George Scholefield, neighbor and former Live Stock Inspector and Detective for the district of Pantano before Walter Vail's appointment in 1898, and Bird, a local ranch hand.