History of Ellison Ranching Company
Photo by Kurt Markus
The Ellison Ranching Company was established May 25, 1910 by E.P. Ellison. By the mid-1900s, the company maintained three primary ranching operations in the Western United States. That included the King’s River Ranch, Fish Creek, Cottonwood, and Squaw Ranches near the Humboldt River, and the Spanish Ranch situated north of Tuscarora. The Spanish Ranch, originally purchased in 1925, remains in operation today. At the time of its purchase, the Spanish Ranch area in Elko County was thought to contain some of the best ranches in the state of Nevada. This included nearly 20,000 acres of mountain range lands and just over 20,000 acres of mountain valley land. Within the valley land was 8,000 acres of meadow hay land, 6,500 acres of meadow pasture, and just over 9,500 acres of sage brush and rye grasses.
“It’s been said that a man on horseback can ride for a couple hundred miles in one direction across Ellison land and not open a single gate.”
Photo from Ephraim P. Ellison’s Life and Enterprises, 1850-1939 by William G. Hartley.
By 1969, the Ellison Ranching Company was the largest ranching operation in the state of Nevada, and only continued to grow in its distinction into the 21st Century. More recently in 2020, they ranked seventh in the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s 2020 report of the largest cow-calf operations in the United States*. Today, Ellison Ranching Company runs livestock and farming operations across some two million acres throughout Nevada via the Spanish Ranch, PX Ranch, 71 Ranch, and the Fish Creek Ranch. Peter Ellison served as president of Ellison Ranching Company from 1988 to 2020, preserving his family legacy and continuing the significant work started by his great-grandfather over a century ago, followed by IraWines who was elected President of the company in 2021.
* Taken from Ellison Ranching Company: A Century of Heritage, Vision, and Family, an article written by Ashley Patterson for the King Ranch Institute, 2021.
Photo from Ephraim P. Ellison’s Life and Enterprises, 1850-1939 by William G. Hartley.
Founder, E.P. Ellison
Ephraim Peter Ellison, or E.P. Ellison, was born June 10, 1850 in Saint Louis to parents John and Alice Ellison. His legacy is that of a dedicated family man and prolific businessman, having opened operations ranging from banking and flour-milling to sugar manufacturing and ranching, from Alberta, Canada down into the Western United States. Some of the enterprises run by Mr. Ellison during his lifetime remain in operation to this day, in spite of the hardships of the 20th Century which included a World War, rationing, recessions, and an agricultural depression. His ability to keep these businesses afloat under such circumstances serves as an enduring testament to his zealous determination, capacities as a businessman, and unwillingness to give up. E.P. continued to work well into his final days, passing away eight months shy of his 90th birthday in October of 1939. His legacy lives on through the work of the Ellison Ranching Company.
High Desert Empire: Ellison Ranching Company 1910-2020
by Cyd McMullen and Jan Petersen
For more information on E.P. Ellison and his enterprises, see the book Ephraim P. Ellison’s Life and Enterprises, 1850-1939 by William G. Hartley.
Banner photo courtesy of Kurt Markus