Browse Items (9328 total)

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.

This document is a certificate of inspection from December 22, 1902. The document shows eight different types of brands and the markings for 818 cattle shipped by Vail and Gates from Pantano, AZ to Gaviota, CA. By the early 1880s, Vail began to…

One of the original grazing permits issued to the Empire Land and Cattle Company in 1911, allowing their cattle to graze in the National Forest on government land. Note the brands and earmarks for the horses and cattle.

Harry Heffner on a horse with a lasso at the Empire Ranch. Harry Heffner was the Foreman from 1893 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…

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…

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…

The holding gate at the Empire Ranch. A holding gate keeps animals in the holding area so they can be sorted out.

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 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…

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…

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.