We went for the Oro Valley Farmer’s Market and came away inspired by the history of Steam Pump Ranch, Arizona. From homesteaders and ranchers to other one-of-a-kind Oro Valley personalities – the stories start here.
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What and where is Steam Pump Ranch, Arizona?
The Oro Valley is an area in the northern part of Pima County. It is about 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Tucson’s city limits. It is in between the Catalina and Tortolita mountain ranges.
Steam Pump Ranch is in the heart of the Oro Valley, just off N. Oracle Road and easily accessed by the 4-mile (6.4 km) long Canada del Oro River Park bike path.
Sixteen acres of the original Steam Pump Ranch is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Every second Saturday – from October to April – the Oro Valley Historical Society offer tours of the historic Pusch House Museum and Steam Pump Ranch. It’s a popular activity for visitors who come to enjoy the Oro Valley Farmer’s Market.
Did You Know? The Town of Oro Valley turned 50 on April 15th, 2024.
Farmer’s market or history tour?
We came for the farmer’s market and were quickly captivated by the opportunity to learn about the Oro Valley and its historic ranch. Oh, so fickle 😉
Seriously though, when there’s a free tour of an historic building or site or district, I’m all in. I’ll drag whoever is with me along for the adventure! The market will wait!
We started reading the interpretive signs outside of the small, brown adobe farmhouse. It didn’t take long to be drawn into the Pusch family saga.
The Ranching Boom
The ranch was started by George Pusch – an immigrant from Germany – and John Zellweger – born in Switzerland – around 1874. Registering the “PZ” brand, they bought cattle for their property north of Tucson. The duo set up a steam pump for water, and Steam Pump Ranch was born.
They might have had water, but ranch life in Cañada del Oro was not perfect. Apache raids on cattle and horses continued throughout the 1870s and into the 1880s. But this didn’t stop the boom. More and more ranches began dotting the southern Arizona landscape.
In 1879, George Pusch met Mathilda Feldman, a 20-year-old German visiting a friend in Tuscon. By 1880 they were married and soon started on growing their family.
The Pusch Family Boom
The couple had nine children. Sadly, first born twins Tillie and Jinnie died within weeks of their birth in 1882. Gertrude came along a year later (and you’ll be happy to hear she lived to the age of 94). She was followed by George Jr (1885), Henrietta (1888), Wilhemina (1890), Maybelle (1891), Fred (1894), and Walter (1898).
George Pusch was a busy father and an even more savvy businessman. He bought out John Zellweger’s interest in Steam Pump Ranch in 1883. He also opened a butcher shop – and later an ice storage facility – in Tuscon.
Water, water… most of it here!
Steam Pump Ranch was ideally situated as stopover for ranchers taking their cattle to the railway stockyards near Tucson. Pusch knew that watering cattle increased their weight and therefore the profit. Ranchers taking cattle to market were charged 15 cents per head for water.
Water is gold in the desert – literally and figuratively. Not only did Pusch profit from providing water for livestock, Steam Pump Ranch also made money as a stage line stop for the route from Tucson to Florence.
Pusch’s empire expanded with a second ranch in the San Pedro Valley. It was located between Mammoth and Winkelman near the confluence of the San Pedro River and Aravaipa Creek. The Pusch family now had three residences – one in Tucson, one in Steam Pump Ranch, and now one at their San Pedro ranch.
At its height, the Feldman Ranch stretched from the San Pedro River to Oracle Junction. Steam Pump Ranch was ideally situated as a stopover on the overnight trip to and from Tuscon, 55 miles (88 km) away.
End of an era
By 1891, most ranches in southern Arizona were heavily overgrazed. A subsequent drought saw huge losses in stock, but the Pusch family fortunes didn’t seem to suffer in the long term.
George Pusch became active in politics, serving in Territorial legislatures and as a member of the Arizona Constitutional Convention in 1910. His eventually took over ranch management. In 1917, the Pusch Land and Cattle Company was established to manage the growing interests.
George Pusch passed away in 1921 at his home in Tucson. Four years later, the company sold their ranching properties. Matilda Pusch died in 1933. And with George and Matilda’s passing, so came the end of an era. The great ranching days were done.
Evolution of Steam Pump Ranch
Jack Proctor was the manager of the Pioneer Hotel in Tucson. He bought the ranch from Mathila Pusch’s estate in 1933 for $10,000. Proctor would often send guests from his Pioneer Hotel to the ranch for a western experience. When Proctor died, he left the ranch to his grandsons, Henry (Hank) and John Leiber.
Hank Leiber – a major league baseball player – lived in the Pusch’s adobe home until he passed. While the original ranch covered thousands of acres, its core remained at Steam Pump Ranch. The remaining 16-acre parcel was bought in 2007 by the Town of Oro Valley.
Steam Pump Ranch is now listed in the National Register of Historic Places. This is the Nation’s official listing of prehistoric and historic properties worthy of preservation.
Love exploring museums and sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Arizona?
Check out the Arizona Copper Art Museum and read our posts on the National Register sites in Petrified Forest National Park, Bisbee Historic District, Faraway Ranch in Chiricahua National Monument, Colossal Cave Preservation Park Historic District, or Empire Ranch
Inside the Steam Pump Ranch House Museum
We stepped inside the small building. After reading displays highlighting the Pusch family history and taking in all the photos and memorabilia, we wandered into the other rooms full of Arizona and Oro Valley historic timeline.
I love a good story – and there were more than one in the bios of other Oro Valley historical figures.
Oro Valley Personalities
Ever driven Ina Road? Meet Ina (Ee-nah) Gittings, born in 1885 in Wilbur, Nebraska. She graduated from the University of Nebraska in 1906. Ina taught and served as a Director of Women’s Physical Education at the University of Arizona in 1920.
In 1925 she completed her master’s degree and continued teaching. A few years later she picked up the first of two parcels of land in the Oro Valley under the Homestead Act, adding pioneer to her dossier.
Still keeping her residence near the university, Ina taught everything from archery to track & field to horseback riding. At one point, the women’s programs needed an extra field for new sports. Ina could have the Department of Agriculture’s onion fields – as long as she and her athletes harvest the onions themselves!
Never married, Professor Gittings retired in 1955. She passed ten years later. Oh, to sit and have a meal with this amazing Oro Valley resident.
But she’s not the only Oro Valley woman I’d love to have met. The valley was also home to British royalty (Countess of Suffolk, Margaret “Daisy Leiter) and the “Rattlesnake Queen of Arizona” (Catherine Reidy).
While the countess offered grace, the “Queen” provided the grit. I just can’t wrap my head around a pit full of rattlesnakes in the backyard. As if that isn’t enough of a nightmare – for this ophidiophobe – just imagine harvesting snake skins to make wallets, belts, and hat bands. Or worse yet, wearing the unique jewelry made of bleached reptilian bones!
When You Go
Steam Pump Ranch is located at 10901 N. Oracle Rd, Oro Valley, Arizona. The Ranch is open to the public from sunrise to sunset Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Check out this Hipcamp location nearby for a unique camping option in the area.
The Makers Market and Second Saturdays at Steam Pump Ranch run October through April, from 9 am – 1 pm (except April when it’s 8 am – 12 noon). The Oro Valley Historical Society presents docent-guided tours from 10 a.m. to 12 Noon.
Arizona also has numerous national parks, monuments, trails & landmarks in addition to national historic sites – start checking them off with our Etsy shop checklist!
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