Empire Ranch Foundation

Reading List

To learn more about the history of the Empire Ranch consult the print and web resources listed below.

The Empire Ranch — A Special Story. Empire Ranch Foundation News. May 2002, 3(2):4.

An Englishman’s Arizona: The Ranching Letters of Herbert R. Hislop, 1876-1878 introduction by Bernard L. Fontana. Overland Press, 1965. [available from libraries or out-of-print dealers]

Empire Ranch by Gail Waechter Corkill and Sharon E. Hunt, Charleston, SC, Arcadia Publishing, 2011. Images of America series. [order from the Empire Ranch Foundation]

Heart of the Empire. Historic Structure Report, Empire Ranch, Arizona by Laura Soulliere Harrison and Paul Niedenger, Volume 1, December 1992, revised 2020.

Historic American Landscape Survey: Empire Ranch.  Washington, DC, National Park Survey, 2016. HALS AZ-19.

History of the Empire Ranch by Gregory Paul Dowell. Master’s Thesis, University of Arizona, 1978. Posted with permission of Gregory Paul Dowell.

Journal of a Special Place from Ranch Land to Public Preserve text by Jan Barstad, photographs by Jerry Sieve. Arizona Highways September 1990, 66(9):4-13. Posted with permission of Arizona Highways.

Diary of a Desert Trail: 1890 Cattle Drive from Arizona to California by Edward L. Vail. Sonoita, AZ: Empire Ranch Foundation, 2016. [Available from Amazon.com]

The Empire Ranch and Walter L. Vail by John J. Wooley and Laurel Wilkening. The Copper State Journal 2002; 37 (4): 12-17.  Permission to post being sought.

Empire Ranch v. Southern Pacific Railroad, 1890. Empire Ranch Foundation News. May 2004, 5(2):3-4.

The English Boys’ Outfit, Part 1 by Sinclair Browning. Empire Ranch Foundation News. Aug 2004, 5(3):5-6.

The English Boys’ Outfit, Part 2 by Sinclair Browning. Empire Ranch Foundation News. Nov 2004, 5(4):5-6.

Growing up a tomboy on the Empire Ranch, Part I by Betty Barr. The Bulletin, 13(20):1, 10, June 18, 2003. Posted with permission of Betty Barr.

Growing up a tomboy on the Empire Ranch, Part II by Betty Barr. The Bulletin, 13(21):1, 8, June 25, 2003. Posted with permission of Betty Barr.

May We Introduce… Mrs. John Harvey. Empire Ranch Foundation News. Aug 2010, 11(3):4.

Santa Rosa Island Rancher Walter Vail Honored by National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum by Vail Family. Noozhawk, September 4, 2018.

University of Arizona Library Special Collections, Online Exhibit “Remembering an Empire (digitized historical documents, photos, and maps, learning activities and resources for further study)

Walter Vail by Betty Barr in More Hidden Treasures of Santa Cruz County Sonoita, AZ: BrockingJ Books, 2008, pp. 15-23. Posted with permission of Betty Barr.

Boice family, Empire Ranch, Sonoita by Betty Barr in Hidden Treasures of Santa Cruz County, Sonoita, AZ: BrockingJ Books, 2006, pp. 166-170. Posted with permission of Betty Barr.

Hereford Tradition of Arizona’s Boices by Richard G. Schaus. American Hereford Journal. 240-2,244,248,252-3,256,724-738, July 1959. Permission to post being sought.

Ranching Heritage of the Boice Family. Empire Ranch Foundation News. Feb 2006, 7(1):4.

Reflections from Sixty Years Ago… by Gerald Korte. Empire Ranch Foundation News. May 2005, 6(2):3.

Desert Empire by Tammy LeRoy. Western Horseman 71(7):38-44, July 2006. Permission to post being sought.

Donaldsons ranch with public looking over their shoulders by Colleen Schreiber. Livestock Weekly. Online Edition, April 18, 2002

Profile of good stewardship: The Empire Ranch. The Quivira Coalition Newsletter. 2(4):10-12, 15, June 1999.

Ian Tomlinson. Managing the Grasslands of the Historic Empire Valley. Field Notes for Members of the Nature Conservancy in Arizona. Fall 2016: 10-12.