Empire Ranch Part III

These are the last of the photos, I promise!  In the master bedroom was a series of shelves behind glass holding some of the artifacts the women of the house would have likely used while they lived on Empire Ranch.  Of course I had to snap some pics!

Silk gloves, so thin you can see right through them!

Mesh bag.  Spotted a version like this at one of the antique stores recently.

Hair brushes.

I love these tortoiseshell combs!  And the delicate initials on the back of the mirror? Exquisite!

Empire Ranch Part II

Here are some more pictures from my visit to the historic Empire Ranch.

The Vails, first family to live at the Empire Ranch.

The Boices, the family that occupied Empire Ranch during the 1950s.

The Empire Ranch was the beautiful location chosen for a few westerns, including the Last Train from Gun Hill.

I simply loved this picture.  Sherry Boice raised her family in one of the small homes on the Ranch.

Empire Ranch

January 7 - Continued!

Will took me to an incredible historic ranch dating from the 1870s in the area of the Coronado National Forest in Sonoita.  The Empire Ranch was owned by at least three different families before it was finally sold to the Bureau of Land Management, who is in the process of stabilizing the ranch buildings and creating, essentially, a museum.  Here are some images of the ranch and the people who called it home.

Evolution of the ranch, from foundation to its current incarnation.

Animal pens and partial view of the cowboys' quarters.

Historic photo of the ranch.

Barn, windmill.

The ranch as it stands now is huge, including the original ranch-house which had been converted into quarters for the cowboys and cook with it's adjacent animal pens, an enormous kitchen, a wing just for the children with a large Arizona room for them to sleep in during warmer weather, and the Victorian section which held the living and sitting rooms along with the master bedroom and bath.  Framed by the Victorian and children's sections is a large garden (where the above historic photo was taken) with a brick fountain and the foundation for a swimming pool which has since been filled in.