Legend has it that Electra once blew $1 million in a single day at Neiman Marcus. Concerned about the future of the ranch, W.T. The summer after his discharge, in 1970, Bucky decided it was time to move to the ranch and begin his real education. Disgusted, he continued drilling for water. The W.T. Perhaps they are afraid of ghosts. [3][14][15] It was ultimately sold in February 2016 to billionaire Stan Kroenke, the husband of Wal-Mart heiress Ann Walton Kroenke and current owner of the National Football League's Los Angeles Rams and the Premier League's Arsenal F.C. As it turned out, he didnt. And You Thought Feral Hogs Were Bad. began courting Quanah Parker, the Comanche chief, with their eyes on the Big Pasture, a huge block of Indian land just across the Red River in what would eventually become Oklahoma. On a slight rise behind this house is a much grander two-story Spanish-style villa with a red tile roof, a swimming pool, and a formal garden. discovered oil while trying to drill for water, Hughes tells me. You get in here far enough, it just swallows you up, Hughes tells me. These live creeks and their tributaries provide a desirable source of livestock water throughout the property. The cattle will be sold, along with the trucks that haul them, and the vast pastures will be chopped up, and who knows what will replace them. [13] He once played there with polo champion Cecil Smith. Historically, potable drinking water has been an issue on the Waggoner Ranch, and for that matter, on many other ranches in this area of North Texas. The ranch has perfected water right permits to pump approximately 3,893 acre feet of water annually, which is used to irrigate farmland and water the grounds around major headquarter improvements. But we are so far from the lights of townany townthat half an hour before daylight its still pitch black. Three pivot sprinkler systems are used to distribute irrigation water to three large fields on the ranch. I remember my mother taking me to Fort Worth to talk to her attorney. Ahead was a legal battle over whether Buster had the right to dispose of property that Electra, his mother, had left in trust to him and his bloodline. Moreover, a sale would be taxed and so would the distribution of the money. Numerous large, functional and well designed sets of shipping and working pens are scattered throughout the ranch. [11] Buster raised polo ponies and established the El Ranchio Polo Club on the ranch. W. T. Waggoner Ranch is located 13 miles south of Vernon, Texas with office headquarters in Vernon. Now the fate of the ranch was up to the court. Stretching across six North Texas counties, the Waggoner Ranch is considered to be extremely well located. [6] Meanwhile, Electra Waggoner Biggs became a renowned sculptor. It may be hard to truly comprehend the sheer vastness of the Waggoner Ranch. Now available for sale on the open market, the Waggoner Ranch represents a singular opportunity so rare, it only comes along every 165 years or so. Roosevelt remembered later: We broke into a lope a mile outside the limits, and by the time we struck the main street, the horses were on a run and we tore down like a whirlwind until we reached the train.. [6], In 1991, Electra Waggoner Biggs sued to be able to sell the ranch. Without question, this legacy ranch represents a once-in-a-lifetime chance for an investor with vision and love of the land the rare opportunity to take this legendary offering to the next level. They seldom speak and hardly ever socialize. ACRES 825,000. Very few test wells havepenetrated the remaining 400,000 acres. But by the 1920s, with the advent of the automobile, W.T.s attitude about oil had changed. Buster never liked cows; the only thing about the ranch he cared about was horses, especially his polo ponies. Recently, new ownership has brought substantial investment in both equipment and design. Its a weird deal. S. Middleton & Son in Lubbock are honored to announce the exclusive offering of the historic W.T. They work six and sometimes seven days a week, from daylight until the job is done, often late at night. West Texans Are Learning What It Means to Live in Bear Country, H-E-Bs True Texas BBQ Restaurant Is Slipping, Jimmy Carters Peanut-and-Egg Taco Made Quite the Impression on San Antonians. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. These camps range in size from just over 20,000 acres to nearly 40,000 acres each. and fellow cattle baron Burk Burnett sent their pet Indian to Washington, D.C., in 1905 to ride in President Theodore Roosevelts second inaugural paradeand to invite Roosevelt to go wolf hunting on the Big Pasture. . At Christmas, they exchange giftsby messenger. While the last of the calves are being loaded onto the trucks, I talk to a 22-year-old cowboy named Shane Bone, a handsome young man in dusty brown chaps and a well-used cowboy hat. Please create an account or shop as a guest. As previously noted, this massive holding spans six North Texas counties. Seafood City (California, Hawaii, Washington, Nevada, Illinois) - Filipino American. We have unique items that feature our brand. A granite tombstone, set in the center of a small, neatly trimmed pasture, marks the grave of the greatest cutting horse of all time. In over 165 years of the Waggoner family ownership, commercial hunting has never been allowed on this expansive ranch. Millionaire ranchers from Argentina and the elite of East Coast society came in their private planes for weekends of polo and debauchery. Ill draw a line and you take first pick, he offered. Wharton, a Philadelphia blue blood she met while traveling in the Himalayas. What must be going through his mind? But the Willinghams arent talkingabout the lawsuit or anything else. One side wants the ranch divided equally but otherwise left intact. Most sets of pens are capable of handling several thousand head of cattle at one time. Waggoner Ranch livestock have access to water at both lakes. Cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch. Quietly and efficiently, Moore began to purge anyone friendly to the Wharton half of the trust: Jim Hughes, who most people had believed would succeed Biggs as trustee; Joe Roberson, the auditor who was being groomed as comptroller; Bill McBroom, the head of the oil division; and Ross Malone, the game warden. [6], The ranch was originally established in 1852 near Vernon, Texas, by Daniel Waggoner under the name of Dan Waggoner & Son; his son being William Thomas Waggoner, who was an infant at the time. Thats how it was reported in nearly every newspaper in Texas, including the Dallas Morning News, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and the Houston Chronicle. One of the most interesting properties at Zacaweista is the gothic stone barn where Buster Wharton bred his polo ponies. W.T.s granddaughter, Electra Waggoner Biggs was nationally known as a sculptress, and with her national notoriety, General Motors named their most luxurious Buick model the Electra and Lockheed Aircraft named a plane in her honor. When it is necessary for them to be in the same room, they let third parties do the talking. Two of the camp divisions, the Zacaweista and the Santa Rosa, are very highly improved. Waggoner Estate Ranch and related assets are now, for the first time ever, being offered for sale at a guideline listed price of $725,000,000. The W. T. Waggoner Estate is the nation's largest ranch under one fence. Now he lives in the bunkhouse. They still talk here of Paul Whitley, an unmarried cowboy who in 1950 rode his horse to Cedar Top, the most remote camp on the ranch, and lived alone in a primitive cabin until his final illness, in 2002. Maybe thats why Judge Neely told me that he has no intention of setting a deadline. The Waggoner Ranch was ordered liquidated. Find a huge selection of trailers from DooLittle and SureTrac in MO. Another number brand is placed on the left hip to denote the year. Originally, Dan Waggoner burned the Reversed 3Ds into the right hip, thigh or rib of his cattle; however, as the price of hides increased, it made economic sense to only use one Reversed D in order to save more of the hide. Joe Roberson showed me how to read the books. In fact, when this ranch was first established, Abe Lincoln was in Congress, California was petitioning to join the U.S. as a free state, and neighboring Oklahoma was Indian Territory. Under the terms of the trust, each of the children owned one third of the 100,000 shares in the estate, elected the board of directors of the trust and served on the board themselves, and retained their homesteads. In the Roaring Twenties, Electra Waggoner was the most infamous socialite in Texas. ACRES It doesnt seem real to even think about it, he says. As Parker biographer Bill Neeley has noted, ethics and morality played no part of this business arrangement. In addition to land and cattle, the family owned five banks, three cottonseed mills, and a coal company. Hes not a large man, but his pleasant and unassuming manner and his quiet, considered confidence give him stature. Its now the home of Electras grandson, Bucky Wharton, his wife, Joline, and their two children. Waggoner's death, his three children, Guy Waggoner, E. Paul Waggoner and Electra Waggoner each inherited a section of the ranch, although there was still a Board of Trustees. Vernon Regional Airport has a 5,100 foot long runway. Bucky wanted to make it clear that he believed the situation was untenable. Many thousands of additional acres of native pasture are suitable for cultivation, if desired. | Some of the wells discovered in the 1920s are still in operation. These lakes were built by the Corps of Engineers as a major source of municipal and irrigation use water for Wichita Falls, area towns and nearby farming communities. The two sides have never been able to agree on a replacement. Electra II married twice, the second time for keeps to John Biggs, a Texan who worked for International Paper Company, in New York, in 1943. The land was used primarily to raise crops, beef cattle and horses as well as for oil production. Whats Up With All the Kangaroos on the Loose in Texas? Hed consult with him and get back to us. Texas became the 28th state on December 29, 1845, so the Waggoner Ranch is nearly as old as Texas itself. All together, as one may imagine, with this many contiguous acres, there is an immense variety of land types on the Waggoner. Since Electra IIs death, in 2001, the board has been composed of these two men who rarely speak to each other. Originally, the trust was supposed to expire after twenty years, in 1943, but the terms of the trust allowed it to be routinely extended in twenty-year increments until 1983. [10], By 1909, W.T. Add to cart. Northwest Texas was open range in the 1850s, when Dan Waggoner and his fifteen-year-old black slave trailed 242 Longhorn cattle and 6 horses to Wise County. We farm approximately 25,000 that we use to graze cattle and raise crops for sale and internal use. W. T. Waggoner Ranch is currently developing hunting opportunities for quail, wild hog and deer. Bickering and backstabbing have been a way of life in the family. It is as much a part of the legacy as horses, cattle, oil, opulent mansions, divorces, and drunken sprees. Thats the only reason anyone would want to sell.. Employees of the Waggoner Ranch horse operation concentrate on raising horses for working ranch purposes and strive to create athletic and trainable horses that are 15-hands tall with outstanding conformation. The ranch includes thousands of cattle, hundreds of horses and oil wells, and 30,000 acres of. and 283. Settling into an apartment attached to Busters former home at Zacaweista, he enrolled at Midwestern State University, in Wichita Falls, and commuted between ranch and campus, pursing a degree in business administration while learning the ins and outs of the estate. The house eventually fell apart and was torn down. Waggoner Ranch with all of its history and be a part of its future unbridled potential. Besides receiving revenue from these house lot leases, the ranch charges a daily use fee for boating and fishing on these lakes and also controls concession rights. Jim Jennings, in a 2005 article in The Quarter Horse Journal, states, By 1868, the Waggoner outfit had grown considerably, but help was still short. $ 58.00. Joe Roberson, who was the estates auditor for many years, describes him this way: Big belt buckle, expensive boots, a bottle of whiskey. E. Paul had a good eye for horseshe bought Poco Bueno, the great cutting horse sireand loved to be seen as the ultimate cattle baron, but a retired Waggoner Ranch foreman named G. L. Proctor told me, He wasnt much of a rider. W.T. When E. Paul drew Zacaweista instead, W.T. Moore astonished Bucky by trying to buy his stock in the estate. Depending upon weather and moisture conditions, the ranch has been operated with 11,000 14,000 mother cows, plus calves, bulls and replacements; however, due to the recent drought, and in order to protect the ranch, current stocking rates have been reduced to around 7,000 mother cows/calves, plus replacements and bulls. Both were famous for breeding, the King Ranch for Santa Gertrudis cattle, the Waggoner Ranch for cutting horses. One of the striking sights as you leave the ranch is the sudden appearance of enormous green fields of cotton, wheat, and alfalfa. Located about a three-hour drive north-west of Dallas, the Waggoner ranch was founded in 1849 and has remained in the family ever since. They chose the latter. In the late sixties Bucky attended the University of the Americas, in Mexico City. A complete list of this inventory can be made available. There is a photograph of her in the Red River Valley Museum, near Vernon College, along with a large collection of her work: busts of Will Rogers, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Bob Hope, Knute Rockne, Amon Carter, John Nance Garner. A unified decision has now been made by the shareholders to sell this legendary ranch. But Wait, There's More A smattering of the more than 4,000 items listed on the. Jos R. Ralat is Texas Monthlys taco editor, writing about tacos and Mexican food. [8] Although it still spans six counties, it is primarily centered on Wichita County and Wilbarger County. Some whitetail deer on the Waggoner Ranch are estimated to be of Boone and Crockett quality. One morning she packed, jumped in her car, and headed for town, not bothering to stop and open any of the ten gates on the way. | Worth Metroplex area. This iconic ranch property has been owned and operated by Waggoner heirs for approximately 165 years. . The Waggoner Ranchis a historic north Texasranch located 13 miles south of Vernon, Texas. I tried college in Vernon for a little while, but it wasnt for me. After the Biggses requested liquidation, he hired Hughes and Roberson to draw a map, splitting the ranch in a way that would be acceptable to both sides. At least thats what everyone outside the two families, their lawyers, and the judge believe happened. As land was cleared for settlement, he gradually moved west and by the late 1870s settled along Beaver Creek near Electra Texas. Genes got to drive within fifty feet of Buckys house every morning and again every evening to get to his own place. In a deposition filed with the court in 2001, Bucky acknowledged: We do not meet face to face, just he and I. Cowboys worry that the feud will destroy the ranch. They are already being augmented by Kroenke Ranches' world-class commercial Angus herd. 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The W.T. Jim Hughes, a longtime attorney for the Waggoner estate who was being groomed to become a trustee before the feud cost him the opportunity, slows down as a dozen or more wild turkeys scamper across the highway and disappear into thick stands of mesquite. The ranch is approximately 175 miles northwest of the Dallas/Ft. The sale of the iconic Waggoner Ranch, while marking the end of one era, creates for a new owner the opportunity to begin another. Hawley has a cell phone handy, and the ranch radio under the dash crackles with voices from isolated posts miles away. But W.T. The Waggoner Ranch was established in 1849 by Dan Waggoner. Heath@WaggonerRanch.com 20% off all products! Apparently they just agreed to continue to disagree. This was a time when much of Texas was open range and unexplored. The King Ranch, based in south Texas, has more acreage spread over several parcels. Electra died in 1925 at the age of 43, her life and much of her fortune spent on extravagance. Buster too had multiple spouses (four, to be exact), but his only heir was A. In one last attempt to keep the range open, W.T. Some of these were bred strictly for ranch work, and others for the show arena, but they all had one thing in common, they were cow horses., Poco Bueno was foaled in 1944 and was purchased by E. Paul Waggoner in 1945. The Waggoner Ranch was founded by a man named Dan Waggoner around 1854 when he and his son relocated to a 160-acre farm in Wise County, TX, after the untimely passing of Dan's wife Nancy in 1853. She joined him in the apartment, and they set to work remodeling the Zacaweista mansion, which had sat vacant for nearly a dozen years. In 1923, W. T. formed what is known today as the W. T. Waggoner Estate. "W. T. Waggoner Estate: Venerable, $725 million ranch about to be sold", American Quarter Horse Association: Waggoner Ranch, "You Can Now Buy a Texas Ranch That's the Size of a Small Nation, For $725 Million", "Waggoner Ranch: 1994 Best Remuda Winner", "NFL Owner Stan Kroenke Buys Texas Mega-Ranch Listed for $725 Million", "Legendary Waggoner Ranch Historical Combination of Then and Now", "Massive Waggoner Ranch, "last of the True West," is up for grabs", "Mammoth estate to be split up, auctioned", "Waggoner Ranch, among US' largest, listed for sale", "Ranch Dressing: Brokers Prep Giant Waggoner Farm for Sale", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Waggoner_Ranch&oldid=1097984814, Infobox mapframe without OSM relation ID on Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 13 July 2022, at 17:07. Choose from multiple print sizes, border colors, and canvas materials. Dan and W.T. Rani's World Foods (Texas & Nevada) - Indian supermarket chain. Bernard Uechtritz of Briggs-Freeman Sothebys International Realty in Dallas, and Sam Middleton, of Chas. The W.T. All I ever knew is the Waggoner Ranch, he tells me. Guy had a weakness for the ladies; he once skipped town with the lead actress from a traveling burlesque show. He offered to pay Buckys attorney fees and pitch in an extra one million. The Wichita River, the two branches of Beaver Creek, countless small streams and tributaries, and dozens of stock tanks supply the ranchs water. A unified decision has now been made by the shareholders to sell this legendary ranch. [8] W.T. I cant sit down, never could, he tells me. They include a bunkhouse for single cowboys, more homes for the foreman and senior cowboys, a cookhouse, several maintenance sheds, and a truck barn. When Judge Tom Neely, who is in charge of the current lawsuit to break up the ranch, was a young attorney in a previous round of Waggoner lawsuits during the sixties, he and other lawyers found some of E. Pauls letters to Helen. Waggoner found oil while drilling for water. So it was the King Ranch whose legend was set down for posterity by the distinguished Texas author Tom Lea, while the Waggoners escapades were left to be recorded by the English author John Bainbridgea few passages in his 1960 book called The Super-Americans, about the excesses of Texass oil millionaires. Quality horses are always the pride of a true rancher, and this original set of broodmares became a huge influence in the development of the Quarter Horse breed. [7] Parts of it can be seen from highways U.S. 183 Then, twelve years ago, the two branches of the Waggoner family that control the W. T. Waggoner estate, which in turn controls the ranch, locked themselves in a lawsuit no one can win. Its been vacant ever since. He built the newlyweds an eighteen-room mansion in Fort Worth, where he later built a twenty-story office building as the base for his empire. Now look at it! These cows are bred to Hereford, Angus, and Charolais bulls. As the sun begins to crawl over the horizon, Hawley marvels at the endless prairie. Reply Anonymous February 3, 2013 at 8:00 PM This is a robust and versatile multi-faceted operation like none other available on the market today. Today, it is estimated there are over 1,000 producing oil wells on the Waggoner Ranch, with the W.T. We would love to have our customers come by and see us and see our newly remodeled store. Two years after Prathers resignation, Bucky gave notice of termination of the trust in a letter to Electra IIs family. Waggoner Estate Ranch. The ranch originally operated under the name of Dan Waggoner & Son. Ranch Manager. The only thing I can figure, it was give to them. You have no voice here and you never will.. [9] One of the lakes on the ranch provides water for the City of Wichita Falls. American Made Cap has manufactured for all types of customers, from professional baseball teams to local ranches, including the world-famous Waggoner Ranch just down the road. In 1877, Burk Burnett (6666 Ranch), Col. C.C. The majority of the cultivated land is farmed on a dryland basis, but three circle pivot systems are used to irrigate a small portion of the farmland. W.T. He served as trustee, and his three children, Guy Waggoner, Electra Waggoner Wharton, and E. Paul Waggoner comprised the Board of Directors. Its pastures and wheat fields, cattle and horses, mansions. On each of those transactions, Kroenke had relied on Leadbetter's counsel and the insights of Sam Connolly, general manager of Kroenke Ranches. By that time, Ella had died, at the age of one hundred, and her successor as trustee was John Biggs, the son-in-law whom E. Paul had groomed for the job. They communicate by written memos, even though their offices are separated by only a few feet. The farmers probably didnt need intimidating. Main interests of the company are ranching, oil, and approximately 26,000 acres in cultivation. The current inventory of studs, mares, geldings and colts is approximately 474 head. WHAT WE DO: We deliver strategic, brand-driven marketing communications solutions and deploy content that truly resonates . We met in the boardroom at the Waggoner building, Roberson told me. Today the ranch consists of approximately 535,000 acres, and is recognized as the largest ranch in Texas under one fence. They ride the trails of their forebearers, living a life and practicing skills that have almost disappeared. A drought in the last part of the nineteenth century made the land where the Waggoner Ranch now sits nearly useless for growing crops. Each camp manager is responsible for the operation of his specific unit, but all of the managers and cowboys work together during spring branding and shipping. No one, it seems, wants to witness the breakup of a mythic Texas ranchexcept the Waggoner heirs. Proctor, whose daddy was a Waggoner cowboy too, went to work for the ranch in 1937, at age thirteen. The cowboys are already waiting on horseback just outside the loading pens, cutting up like schoolboys awaiting the bell for recess. [6] Guy Waggoner lived there with his wife Anne Burnett, the daughter of Samuel Burk Burnett and heiress of the 6666 Ranch from 1922 until their divorce. The assets of the estate have been estimated at $200 to $300 million, but it would surely fetch far less if liquidated. According to a 2005 article in The Western Horseman Magazine, But another event in 1902 had a lasting impact on the Waggoner Ranch. [2][3] It was originally established in 1852 near Vernon, Texas, by Daniel Waggoner under the name of Dan Waggoner & Son; his son being William Thomas Waggoner. At every opportunity, Dan Waggoner purchased land. There are none to be seen, because there is not a drop of groundwater. The terrain varies from fairly level to gently rolling, sloping and hilly, but there are areas of rougher breaks and scenic, very eroded, red clay badland. But there has been no substantial rain for days now, and we kick up a trail of dark red dust as we head toward Santa Rosa, the area that E. Paul inherited and where his daughter, the second Electra, grew up.