In 1889, the two brothers had the opportunity to purchase the famed A-1 ranch, doubling the ranch operation. The Babbitt headquarters moved to Fort Rickerson, now known as Fort Valley. This acquisition was surely a boost for their cattle operation. The author Earle Forrest, hailed the Babbitt Ranch in Frontier Times as The greatest cattle ranch in the southwest. In addition to the CO Bar, at one time or another they were involved in many other ranches, either as owners or partners, including the famous Hash Knife outfit. Some of the ranches were in California.

In 1915, the year noted as the peak for Babbitt cattle operations, sales were in excess on 1.5 million dollars. But by 1920, the recession cut receipts in half, and in 1921 the sales hit bottom at less than 250,000 dollars. At that time they were also very heavily pursuing the sheep industry. From 1915 to 1920, the total sheep count reached 100,000. The largest of the sheep companies was the Babbitt and Hennessy Sheep Company, which at one time reached 50,000 head. However, as the cattle market dipped, so did the market for the range woolies. Drastic refinancing became necessary, and sale of valuable land was unavoidable. About the time the large debt of the early 1920's was being paid off, another disastrous event took place in the form of a infectious disease in the cattle known as hoof and mouth disease. It was in May of 1924 when the disease was detected in the Babbitt registered herd on a ranch in California. The only treatment for this dreaded disease was to dig a trench 35' wide, 8' deep, 600' long, shoot and bury the 3,500 cattle and cover then with lime. The loss was estimated at $285,000. Then in 1925 another dreaded disease called the Scab was detected in the cattle in Northern Arizona. Dipping vats were built in various locations, and a total of 27,000 heads had to be dipped in a medicated bath. It is estimated that this set back may have cost $500,000.

With sincere determination, the Babbitt Brothers Trading company persisted. C.J. Babbitt, in 1930, became the president of the company after the sudden deaths of Billy and David, and soon after, in 1934, he summoned his son, John George Babbitt to Flagstaff from Boston to help with the immediate situation. John's wife, Elizabeth Quimby says John came home from work one day and said, Lets pack our bags, my dad needs me. And so another era of the Babbitt Ranching operation began under John G. Babbitt. John is considered the individual who developed the ranches into one of the most highly respected outfits in the west. For many years tedious efforts went into water development through pipeline and storage tank development, pasture fencing, earthen dam construction, and general range management. John retired in 1984, at 77 years of age, after overseeing the ranches for over 50 years.

Today's cowboys do the same work as their 1880 counterparts. Modern aids such as airplanes, helicopters, and motorcycles, have no place within these operations. Cowboys work the herds from horseback. Home on the range is the bunk house, bedroll, and chuck wagon. Recitals of poems and tall stories are told during the spring branding and fall gatherings. However, the management of the ranches is as efficient as any modern day business.

Babbitt Ranches is the producer of AQHA quarter horses, sold every July in the annual Hashknife Horse colt sale, and is home to the Coconino Plateau Natural Reserve Lands. The ranch lands, near Flagstaff Arizona and the Grand Canyon, host a variety of wildlife and grazing for quarter horses and cattle.