Every year in the fall since 2000, the Empire Ranch Foundation has put on a grand celebration of ranching life in Southern Arizona. From the 1860’s to the 1960’s, the Empire Ranch was one of the largest and most successful cattle operations in the American Southwest. It is currently, 2023, called the Cowboy Festival.
The annual roundup is a fundraiser to restore the old ranch house and other buildings and preserve a way of life that has almost disappeared. The families that owned and worked the Empire were a hearty bunch. Each expanded the cattle breeding operation until, at its peak, the Ranch encompassed more than 100,000 acres of rolling grassland and cienegas.
If you are interested in more history and historical pictures of Empire Ranch (Images of America), here is a book offered by Amazon.
