As one drives along Oracle Road between the El Conquistador Tucson, Hilton Resort and the Oro Valley Marketplace (Village Center) at the intersection with Tangerine Road, it is hard to miss the unusual letters and marks depicted on the sound walls on both sides of the highway. They are historic livestock brands and marks associated with George Pusch who established the Steam Pump Ranch in the 1870s.
You’ve probably passed by these “markings” more than a few times when you drive along Oracle Road/Historic Route 80. Their location reminds us of a time when the foothills of Pusch Ridge allowed open range grazing. The Oro Valley Historical Society Heritage Guide (revised 2019) explains what these markings are!
The historic Steam Pump Ranch, now owned by the Town of Oro Valley, and the livestock brands placed on the highway sound walls by the Arizona Department of Transportation, are closely connected, not only within the few short miles of road but also in terms of their shared history.
Origins of the “PZ” brand
George Pusch, immigrated from Germany to the United States as a young man in 1867. After living in New York, San Francisco and places in between, he came to Tucson in 1874. Here, with his friend, John Zellweger, an immigrant from Switzerland, he established a ranch along the Cañada del Oro drainage.
The two men registered the "PZ" brand and began cattle ranching enterprises that lasted for decades. Today, part of one of their ranches is preserved in public ownership -- Steam Pump Ranch. The name "steam pump" was acquired after the men installed a well and pump driven by steam to provide a dependable source of water for cattle.
By the 1880s the Territory of Arizona had a long history of open range grazing. The branding of cattle was the main means of determining ownership during the era when pioneer ranchers developed their cattle operations in southern Arizona.
Pusch registered eight brands
George Pusch registered eight brands, individually or with partners, before 1898. They appear in the first "Territorial Book of Brands and Marks…Cattle, Horses, Sheep and Hogs" (1898) issued by the Live Stock Sanitary Board of Arizona. Livestock branding became law in the Territory in 1897 and a brand tax was instituted in 1903. Over 11,000 brands were recorded in the Territory prior to Arizona statehood in 1912. George Pusch was Chairman of the Live Stock Sanitary Board in 1908.
The Brand Tax
Ranchers typically kept records of their livestock transfers because they needed an accurate count of the number of stock owned for the assessment of taxes. Payment of the brand tax was serious business. Each year a brand owner had to submit a sworn statement containing the number of head of stock for which he would be assessed. If these requirements were not met and the tax not paid, a brand was no longer considered evidence of ownership of the animals so marked.
Part 2 of this article will be published tomorrow. Read about what was written in the Steam Pump Ranch Ledger Book, how to read brands, and more!
George Pusch, immigrated from Germany to the United States as a young man in 1867. After living in New York, San Francisco and places in between, he came to Tucson in 1874. Here, with his friend, John Zellweger, an immigrant from Switzerland, he established a ranch along the Cañada del Oro drainage.
The two men registered the "PZ" brand and began cattle ranching enterprises that lasted for decades. Today, part of one of their ranches is preserved in public ownership -- Steam Pump Ranch. The name "steam pump" was acquired after the men installed a well and pump driven by steam to provide a dependable source of water for cattle.
By the 1880s the Territory of Arizona had a long history of open range grazing. The branding of cattle was the main means of determining ownership during the era when pioneer ranchers developed their cattle operations in southern Arizona.
Pusch registered eight brands
George Pusch registered eight brands, individually or with partners, before 1898. They appear in the first "Territorial Book of Brands and Marks…Cattle, Horses, Sheep and Hogs" (1898) issued by the Live Stock Sanitary Board of Arizona. Livestock branding became law in the Territory in 1897 and a brand tax was instituted in 1903. Over 11,000 brands were recorded in the Territory prior to Arizona statehood in 1912. George Pusch was Chairman of the Live Stock Sanitary Board in 1908.
The Brand Tax
Ranchers typically kept records of their livestock transfers because they needed an accurate count of the number of stock owned for the assessment of taxes. Payment of the brand tax was serious business. Each year a brand owner had to submit a sworn statement containing the number of head of stock for which he would be assessed. If these requirements were not met and the tax not paid, a brand was no longer considered evidence of ownership of the animals so marked.
Part 2 of this article will be published tomorrow. Read about what was written in the Steam Pump Ranch Ledger Book, how to read brands, and more!
