TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Western history is alive and well in the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area.
One tiny little ranch house makes sure of that.
Empire Ranch was originally built in 1871, and over 170 years later the same ranch house still stands.
The Empire Ranch Foundation is hosting another year of Christmas at Empire Ranch, this Saturday, Dec. 14 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The festival is one of the many ways they keep themselves funded. It's also how the ranch creates new memories yearly on this almost two-century-old property.
“Western heritage is disappearing. Houses are being torn down. They get old, the families, the generations die, and nobody does anything with the house, and it just gets torn up,“ says Board Member Marti Conroy.
Saturday will feature live music, an appearance from Santa and docent tours. It's an event that has attracted hundreds of people in years past.
"Sometimes it's up as high as 400 people," says Conroy, "It just keeps getting a little bit bigger each year. People love to donate their ornaments. So we have totes and totes, and we have, I think there's four trees now."
Saturday's event is free, but the foundation does ask for a $10 donation for parking.
The Empire Ranch is located at 16655 E. Empire Ranch Road in Sonoita, Ariz.
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Blake Phillips is a reporter for KGUN 9. Originally from St. Louis, Mo., Blake grew up in Sierra Vista. During his college tenure at the Missouri School of Journalism, Blake worked for the NBC affiliate KOMU-TV in Columbia. He is excited to return to a place he calls home and give back to the community in which he grew up. Share your story ideas and important issues with Blake by emailing blake.phillips@kgun9.com.
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