Browse Items (308 total)

Letter to Edward L. Vail (December 301898) from Colin Cameron, the Chairman of the Live Stock Sanitary Board for the Territory of Arizona. It discusses Cameron's opinion on the current cattle laws, centralized slaughter for butchers, fines for cattle…

Map carried by Edward L. Vail on the 1890 cattle drive from the Empire Ranch to the Warner Ranch in California. The map shows the route taken from the Empire Ranch to Yuma, AZ. The camps that were made during this portion of the cattle drive are…

Following the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, the Federal government started surveying the West with the intention of selling as much land as possible to the public. The system used divided land into thirty-six single-square-mile sections. Each section…

December 1, 1898 letter (page 1) from C. W. Gates to Walter Vail which discusses the impact of James T. Gillette's declared bankruptcy in November of 1898 and its effect on their business and the cattle market. The letter discusses strategies to…

Letter to Edward L. Vail (March 301898) from H. Harrison, the secretary of the Live Stock Sanitary Board for the Territory of Arizona. The letter is the notification of Edward L. Vail's appointment as Live Stock Inspector and Detective for the…

Letter dated February 5, 1954 from Harry L. Heffner (Foreman from 1893 to 1905) to Mary Boice, wife of Frank S. Boice, owner and operator of the Empire Ranch at the time. The letter is a partial history of Walter L. Vail's acquisition and start of…

Letter from Herbert R. Hislop dated July 18, 1876 to Edward L. Vail describing the physical details of the Fish Ranch, the proposed purchase price, and the heat in Tucson. Documents in other repositories indicate that the actual purchase price turned…

This bill of sale is from Henry M. Kemp to Vail and Hislop. Vail and Hislop bought 160 acres from Fish and Silverberg for $2000 in gold coin according to the Pima County Recorder Book 3, pages 551-554 (not shown here). Afterwards they purchased the…

Notary Document for 1876 Bill of Sale for properties and animals related to the expansion of the Empire Ranch.

Pages 1-10 of an interview of Harry Heffner, Foreman of the Empire Ranch from 1893 to 1905, by Charles U. Pickrell on June 4, 1960. The interview discusses the history of the Empire Ranch giving details on people involved with the ranch and Southern…

Pages 11-20 of an interview of Harry Heffner, Foreman of the Empire Ranch from 1893 to 1905, by Charles U. Pickrell on June 4, 1960. The interview discusses the history of the Empire Ranch giving details on people involved with the ranch and Southern…

Pages 21-30 of an interview of Harry Heffner, Foreman of the Empire Ranch from 1893 to 1905, by Charles U. Pickrell on June 4, 1960. The interview discusses the history of the Empire Ranch giving details on people involved with the ranch and Southern…

Pages 31-40 of an interview of Harry Heffner, Foreman of the Empire Ranch from 1893 to 1905, by Charles U. Pickrell on June 4, 1960. The interview discusses the history of the Empire Ranch giving details on people involved with the ranch and Southern…

Pages 41-50 of an interview of Harry Heffner, Foreman of the Empire Ranch from 1893 to 1905, by Charles U. Pickrell on June 4, 1960. The interview discusses the history of the Empire Ranch giving details on people involved with the ranch and Southern…

Pages 51-60 of an interview of Harry Heffner, Foreman of the Empire Ranch from 1893 to 1905, by Charles U. Pickrell on June 4, 1960. The interview discusses the history of the Empire Ranch giving details on people involved with the ranch and Southern…

Pages 61-70 of an interview of Harry Heffner, Foreman of the Empire Ranch from 1893 to 1905, by Charles U. Pickrell on June 4, 1960. The interview discusses the history of the Empire Ranch giving details on people involved with the ranch and Southern…

Pages 71-77 of an interview of Harry Heffner, Foreman of the Empire Ranch from 1893 to 1905, by Charles U. Pickrell on June 4, 1960. The interview discusses the history of the Empire Ranch giving details on people involved with the ranch and Southern…

1880 map of Arizona shows the seven counties at the time: Mohave, Yavapai, Apache, Yuma, Maricopa, Pinal, and Pima. The Empire Ranch location is shown on this map in Pima County.

This 1906 map of Arizona shows thirteen counties and railroad routes. Included on the map is the town of Vail, which was named for Walter Vail, who deeded land to the railroad for its stop. The Empire Ranch location is not shown on this map as it was…

An original Southern Pacific Company Thousand Mile Ticket used by Edward L. Vail, stamped February 14, 1901. The ticket included travel between railroad stations in Arizona, New Mexico, and El PasoTexas. It is punched on the days it was used. Note…