Empire Ranch, Historic cattle ranch in Pima County, Arizona, United States

Empire Ranch is a working cattle ranch on the eastern slope of the Santa Rita Mountains in Cienega Valley, Pima County, Arizona. Its 22-room adobe ranch house, with 12-foot ceilings, three stone fireplaces and a half-hexagon bay window, stands above Empire Gulch, a spring-fed rivulet lined with cottonwoods.

Edward Nye Fish first occupied the site in 1871, and in August 1876 Walter Vail and Herbert Hislop bought the ranch and 612 cattle for $1,174. English investor John H. Harvey joined them that October, and the firm became Vail, Hislop and Harvey, called the "English Boys' Outfit." At its height the ranch controlled 180 square miles of rangeland.

The main building shows how western ranch architecture evolved, with spaces organized to reflect the working life of cattle operations and family needs. Visitors can see how adobe and wood construction techniques were combined to create a structure suited to the desert environment.

The site is open daily from sunrise to sunset and lies near Interstate 10 and Arizona Highway 83 for easy vehicle access. It helps to check ahead for any guided tour options, as access to certain building areas may vary depending on maintenance or special events.

The ranch's cattle brand was a heart shape, kept unchanged when the horse brand switched from "V" to "VH" after John H. Harvey joined as third partner in October 1876. Neighbouring cattlemen nicknamed the English-run outfit the "English Boys' Outfit."