Steam Pump Ranch

Interesting historical site. The docents were informative and friendly and NOT overbearing. The displays and information gave me a better appreciation of the area and its history. Worth a short stop. The vendors at the Second Saturday market had unique foods and art. I could have spent $$$ as there were many original pieces. Enjoy!

I was here for Second Saturdays at Steam Pump Ranch last Saturday. It's a farmers' market, plus there are tours of the old ranch house, which has been converted into a museum. Both the tour and the market were OK but not exceptional.

Steam pump ranchWhile attending a farmer's market I took advantage of the opportunity to see a really wonderful piece of Old Tucson that actually had family members from the early settlers of the ranch present to give information about the area. (We are lucky enough to have Barbara McIntyre a descendant of the early l settlers George and Mathilda Pusch. Her grandmother was one of their children. It was just very interesting to have that living history part of the museum by having the actual descendants share their perspective of early Tucson. George Pusch built the pump house in about 1875, he was very much in astute businessman and he took advantage of the local surface water to put in a steam pump and a Holding area for watering livestock. During the time cattle drives would be coming down from Tucson to the desert to get in the rail lines and of course the cattle would be very lean because they've been in the desert for a long time. He charged about 15 cents ahead for cattle to be watered which would increase their weight before they got shipped and would increase the amount of money that the cattle drovers would get for their cattle at market. Eventually they bought more land surrounding this area and at one time actually had over 15,000 cattle in the range that they were working with. They're also encounters with indigenous Apaches and the area also was famous all the way back from when Spanish settled the area for the lure of gold and there is of course a legend of a secret gold mine. He had several other business ventures including a butcher shop of course which connected into the cattle in a ice storage facility in Tucson. Mr Pusch was also a member of the Arizona territorial legislature.When he died much of the cattle operations were shutting down.In 1933 a new era in the ranch was brought on by the second significant historical family that the steam pump ranch. The Proctor family. During the prohibition area the ranch hosted several copper Homebrew mescal and sold it to locals. When Mr Jack Proctor took over the ranch many things were abandoned. At the same time he was the manager owner operator of the luxury Pioneer hotel and the owner director of Valley national bank. His hobbies were raising prize bowls and at the ranch he created a bunch of chicken farms to provide chicken and eggs to the guests of the pioneer hotel. His family also supported the original Tucson rodeo or the festival de vaqueros This area also hosted the first guest ranch in Arizona. We're also lucky to have the granddaughter of one of the proctors who lived on the ranch and was a barrel racer being one of the docents at the museum. It's her saddle that's displayed at the museum. I hope that people are motivated to learn more and go out and listen to people especially since you have the Arizona statehood celebration coming up.

The Steam Pump Ranch hosts a weekly Saturday Heirloom Farmers Market. I stopped by to pick up a mushroom order from Desert Pearl Mushrooms and so glad I did. This is a lovely farmers market! It's on the smaller side, compared to the Heirloom Farmers market at the Rillito Race Grounds, but I prefer small. It's easier to navigate and less overwhelming. Even though it's smaller, it doesn't mean the selection is limited. You can still shop for fresh veggies, fruit, produce, personal care items, dried goods and more! This is a great way to shop small and find new businesses to support! The Steam Pump Ranch a historical site and pre-COVID era hosted events pretty regularly. It's a neat place and the views to Pusch Ridge are beautiful. The farmers market is at rear end of the property. Parking is on the front end of the ranch and there's plenty of it!

Fabulous trip through history and wonderful fun for concerts, wine festivals, weddings, and of course THE BEST Farmers Market in town!Great place to take the family for gorgeous scenery and fun!

Stopped by Steam Pump Ranch today for the Saturday Heirloom Farmers Market which is quite nice! It's smaller size makes it very manageable but you still get a little bit of everything - fresh produce, coffee, cheese, flowers, CBD lip balm, baby goats! I'm all about supporting local business. There were some grilled burritos that looked especially tasty which I'm planning on trying next weekend (the vegan one with roasted poblano peppers, onion, corn, rice & beans - yum!). Make sure to stop by the fresh roasted organic coffee booth and pick up a pound of the Timor flavor and you'll get a free full size cup of whichever other flavor they have brewed. We've gotten the last bag of Timor the past two Saturdays so make sure you stop by early ;)There was a booth offering mushroom coffee and such that caught my eye.Parking was no problem. Besides the market, we took a look around the outside of the historic adobe buildings. There are two stages for live music which I can imagine offer some very authentic Western vibes.

Opens only during special occasions. Check out the Oro Valley App for details. Has weekly Farmers Market. Great selection of farm fresh products and produce. There's a historical building with volunteers to tell the story of a bygone era. A landmark for Oro Valley.Town of Oro Valley founded in 1974.

This location is the founding site of Oro Valley. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places for its association with the history of cattle ranching in southern Arizona. On the second Saturday of the month the ranch is open for tours and has live music and other events. Every Saturday a farmers market is held at the rear of the location. This is a great spot to visit with nice views of Pusch Ridge. It also links up to the bike/walking path system in Oro valley. If you are out and about in Oro Valley and see the initials "PZ" in artwork and stuff that is the brand that was registered to the ranch during its cattle days. Visiting the ranch is a good way to spend a morning in Oro Valley.

We had our wedding reception at Steam Pump. Joel was very helpful and knowledgeable answering our questions and connecting with our coordinator the day of, the views are stunning and the grounds were just what we needed!