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Main interests of the company are ranching, oil, and approximately 26,000 acres in cultivation. 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. At least thats what everyone outside the two families, their lawyers, and the judge believe happened. Dan and W.T. She hosted parties of celebrities, movie stars, and barons of capitalism, including the daughter of J. P. Morgan. Waggoner Estate Ranch and related assets are now, for the first time ever, being offered for sale at a guideline listed price of. Bucky Wharton didnt think of the ranch as his heritage until he was in high school at Culver Military Academy, in Indiana. He first settled on Catlett Creek near the site of present Decatur. Though there are more than two thousand miles of road inside the ranch, there are hardly any road signs or navigational landmarks. The ranch is fenced and crossfenced, with an estimated several thousand miles of ranch roads and ranch fencing. There are none to be seen, because there is not a drop of groundwater. We have unique items that feature our brand. 510,527.00 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. Find a huge selection of trailers from DooLittle and SureTrac in MO. Without a trustee to keep them at arms length, they set off on a collision course. The Waggoner Ranch, 550,000 acres extending into six counties, a realm steeped in Texas history, teeters on the brink of liquidation. Joe Roberson showed me how to read the books. W.T. discovered oil while trying to drill for water, Hughes tells me. The bidding period on the ranch, going for $725 million, ended Oct. 20 with about six serious potential buyers. 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. We have unique items that feature our brand. Numerous large, functional and well designed sets of shipping and working pens are scattered throughout the ranch. Over the years, a substantial amount of brush work has been done, and the mesquite canopy ranges from nearly extinct to moderate over portions of the ranch. Mid America is your local truck topper and trailer dealer in St Louis MO for all your new and used truck toppers in st louis as well as dump trailers and utility flatbed trailers in St Louis MO. Thats the case that has been snaking through Judge Tom Neelys Forty-sixth District Court, in Wilbarger County, for these past twelve years. Now the fate of the ranch was up to the court. In addition to Lake Kemp and Lake Diversion, the ranch boasts several other large private lakes, some of which, such as Santa Rosa Lake, are reserved for the exclusive use of the families. They chose the latter. [3] It spans six counties[3][6] and is half as large as Rhode Island. Its a constant battle. Over these past three decades, Bucky has absorbed every inch of this ranch and most of its colorful history. Add to cart. Wichita Falls, the county seat of Wichita County, is approximately 20 miles east of the eastern boundary of the ranch. Hawley has a cell phone handy, and the ranch radio under the dash crackles with voices from isolated posts miles away. Waggoner Ranch, among US' largest, listed for sale - Chron Nobodys sure. Heath@WaggonerRanch.com 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. He offered him pennies on the dollar for his fifty percent share., It was a paltry amount, Roberson agreed. 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 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. When my wife got sick with cancer, Gene and Buck got the company plane to fly her to M. D. Anderson. This is the job I set my sights on, he says. Today, it is estimated there are over 1,000 producing oil wells on the Waggoner Ranch, with the W.T. Texas History: What's your opinion?: Cattle Brands - Blogger The Waggoner Ranch has been very well managed over time, and considering the recent four-year drought, the worst in recorded history, the ranch supports an overall good turf of native grasses. Our ranching operation includes, cattle, horses and the farm. They are already being augmented by Kroenke Ranches' world-class commercial Angus herd. It was notable for being the largest ranch within one fence in the United States. Buckys home sits on one side of the square. Yesterday a helicopter herded one hundred mother cows and their calves into a trapa corner of the large pastureand soon cowboys on horseback will be stripping the calves away from their mothers, herding them into separate pens and loading them onto trucks for transportation to other parts of the ranch. The many improvements and related assets mentioned above combine to offer the purchaser an extremely attractive depreciation schedule. Disgusted, he continued drilling for water. The United States Department of Agriculture, as part of a conservation project, had surveyed every foot of ground on the ranch, and Roberson fed this information into a database. Patel Brothers - largest Indian American supermarket chain. Waggoner Ranch - AQHA - American Quarter Horse Association The Waggoner Ranch was ordered liquidated. At that time, Gene wanted to sell leases to hunters and Bucky didnt. This huge block of farmland is crossfenced into large manageable fields which are suitable for grazing thousands of head of wheat pasture cattle. They buried him standing up, Hughes informs me. They wintered the herd that year in Clay County and the following spring drove it to market, netting a profit of $55,000. The summer after his discharge, in 1970, Bucky decided it was time to move to the ranch and begin his real education. [6] It has about 14,000 cows and bulls as well as 500 horses. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Vista Caliente - Signed Print by Woodrow M. Blagg - Cowboys - Waggoner Ranch at the best online prices at eBay! We met in the boardroom at the Waggoner building, Roberson told me. John and Electra had two daughtersa third Electra and Helen. The Waggoner Ranch Reversed D Brand is burned on the right hip of calves, and dates back to June 11, 1849. They plied him with extravagant gifts: engraved pearl-handled revolvers, diamond stick pins, junkets to Fort Worth, Dallas, and Washington, D.C. All rights reserved. A good cowboy does what the foreman tells him and waits for his paycheck and for the sun to go down., Now the sun is going down on the Waggoner Ranch, perhaps forever. Passing under a granite arch, we head down a long, paved driveway to Zacaweista, an Indian word meaning good grass. Its the name of both the ranch headquarters and the sprawling rock-and-wood home that Electra built in 1910. As a boy, Bucky visited the ranch at Christmas and during the summer, but he was never close to his father and knew nothing about cattle or oil. The W.T. The history of the land and the Waggoner family is so entwined with myth and legend that nobody can untangle the truth. (Waggoner) hit oil instead. Houses back then were very dark, with low ceilings and small windows. Bernard Uechtritz of Briggs-Freeman Sothebys International Realty in Dallas, and Sam Middleton, of Chas. [11] Buster raised polo ponies and established the El Ranchio Polo Club on the ranch. Approximately 160,000 acres of the 560,000 acres areproven prolific oilproperties. [10], By 1909, W.T. 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. The party bagged seventeen wolves (some of which were really coyotes), and the president beat a five-foot rattlesnake to death with his quirt. The sale of the iconic Waggoner Ranch, while marking the end of one era, creates for a new owner the opportunity to begin another. Waggoner acquired more land. At the same time, they amended the bylaws to allow either party to give notice of termination within certain windows of timean amendment that would later prove crucial in the battle over the ranch. Waggoner Ranch cowboys like and respect both families and consider them fair and generous. Dan died in 1903, leaving everything to Tom. In total, the ranch spans nearly 800 square miles. What he got was just the opposite. The W.T. Waggoner Ranch livestock have access to water at both lakes. A granite marker, weighing four tons, notes his grave site. The Bold Brand - The Land Report After her husband died, Electra II did not keep up the pressure on Bucky, as John Biggs and Killen Moore had done. 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. was determined to keep Electra nearby. The Waggoner has been owned by the same family almost as long as Texas been a state. [8] The ranch spanned more than a million acres of land. To make the trip, Dan gave Tom $12, a group of drovers, and 50 saddle horses, all of which had sores on their backs from heavy use. Inside the Decades-long Effort to Commemorate a Notorious Waco Lynching. reclaimed all land and assets in 1923 and placed them in a so-called Massachusetts trust, a draconian arrangement in which he, as the trustee, controlled everything, including one of the biggest shallow oil fields in the world. All together, as one may imagine, with this many contiguous acres, there is an immense variety of land types on the Waggoner. W.T. Waggoner Estate Ranch | Chas S. Middleton 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. He served as trustee, and his three children, Guy Waggoner, Electra Waggoner Wharton, and E. Paul Waggoner comprised the Board of Directors. The gifts were not entirely altruistic. W. T. Waggoner Ranch is located 13 miles south of Vernon, Texas with office headquarters in Vernon. cattle inventory, horse inventory, horse facilities, brands . Instead of six bedrooms, it now has four. We invite you to browse through our store and shop with confidence. After Buckys father died, Lula [the last of Busters four wives] stripped this place. Approximately 30,000 acres are in cultivation. And so they were, for a hundred years and more. Things were working smoothly at that moment, but neither side believed the harmony would last. Biggss brother-in-law was the president of General Motors, and he later named a Buick model for Electra. Waggoner left behind in East Texas the grave of his wife. It seems inconceivable that they cant agree on a compromise. But Wait, There's More A smattering of the more than 4,000 items listed on the. Copyright 2023 W. T. Waggoner Ranch Uptown Style WordPress theme by, 2013 Gelding (Cat Man Do X Smoked Diamonds), 2015 Stallion (Cat Man Do X Smokin and Swingin). Cowboys ambling from the bunkhouse to the cookhouse for their five-thirty breakfast see her loping across pastures, dodging bulls and pump jacks. As land was cleared for settlement, he gradually moved west and by the late 1870s settled along Beaver Creek near Electra Texas. He began buying land in western Wise County in 1870. At midnight, March 31, 2003, the clock ran out on the W. T. Waggoner trust. 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. A number that denotes the foal's dam is placed on the left shoulder, and the ranch's famous D brand is placed under that. W T Waggoner Ranch Brand Honoring Waggoner Ranch Family and Owners Framed Print by Richard W Linford. In the meantime, the Waggoners had been buying out small farmers on the Texas side of the river, paying $1 an acre and often less. Not a shred, she told me. $720,000,000 Daniel Vaughn is the countrys first barbecue editor, and he has eaten more barbecue than you have. 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. Moore astonished Bucky by trying to buy his stock in the estate. It may be many years before a similar ranch of this magnitude becomes available, if ever. Electra married A.B. Another formula was used to calculate mineral rights, pipelines, cattle, horses, equipment, other assets. A granite tombstone, set in the center of a small, neatly trimmed pasture, marks the grave of the greatest cutting horse of all time. Dan Waggoner passed away in 1903, and his son, W. T. (Tom) Waggoner continued to expand his ranching interests. Dan sent Tom (his son), who was only 16 years old at the time, to Kansas City with a herd of 5,000 steers. [9] It also includes 30,000 acres of arable land and about 1,100 producing oil wells. Waggoners have a series of brands that go on each foal, the history of which goes back to the days of W. T. Waggoner. Waggoner Ranch Store King Ranch. The current inventory of studs, mares, geldings and colts is approximately 474 head. Buckys pride in this place was unmistakable. The house sits on high ground, mostly hidden by oak and pecan trees and a fieldstone wall. Please create an account or shop as a guest. Electra prevailed, as usual. The ranch includes thousands of cattle, hundreds of horses and oil wells, and 30,000 acres of. These cows are bred to Hereford, Angus, and Charolais bulls. The Waggoner (Three D) Ranch had its beginnings in the early 1850s when Daniel Waggoner, his son W. T. (Tom), and a fifteen-year-old Black slave trailed 242 cattle and six horses into Wise County. Waggoner biographer Roze McCoy Porter writes that Electra spent $90,000 remodeling the one-year-old mansion and another $55,000 on draperies. WAGGONER RANCH (VILLAS 18-21) Vernon, TX | Founded 1852 Archer, Baylor, Foard, Knox, Witchita, and Wilbarger Counties Established in 1852, the ranch was primarily used to raise crops, Longhorn cattle and horses. We would love to have our customers come by and see us and see our newly remodeled store. Mesquite is the major invader in this part of Texas. One side wants the ranch divided equally but otherwise left intact. Fort Worth-based Jeremy Enlow was given exclusive access to the cowboys behind the prestigious reversed triple D brand of the Waggoner Ranch, the largest ranch in the United States under one fence. $725 million Waggoner Ranch in Texas finds lender for - Chron Hawley is the ranch manager, and Im sitting in the passenger seat of his pickup, holding my third cup of coffee. . The land was used primarily to raise crops, beef cattleand horsesas well as for oil production. The W.T. The house eventually fell apart and was torn down. The property is divided into approximately 16 camp or division units. Busters card room, on the second floor, which was once walled in leather, now has the original wood exposed. "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. W.T. Gene has told people that the ranch would sell in no time, the whole 520,000 acres. Cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch - Cowboys of Waggoner Ranch [8] By 1903, he sold some of the land near China Creek to developers. She finally pulled up in front of the Vernon drugstore, pieces of gate and fence hanging off the car, Bucky tells me. This sprawling property is approximately three-fourths the size of Rhode Island. The dispute seemed to highlight Bucky and Genes contrasting attitudesone loved the land, the other loved the money. It would be Helens husband, Gene Willingham, who would one day become Bucky Whartons main opponent in the struggle over the Waggoner Ranch. She took everythingthe furniture, even the light fixtures. Handsome and trim, Joline once competed in the New York and Paris marathons and still gets up before first light to run. The Waggoner is one of the 20 largest cattle ranches in the U.S. and is known worldwide for its quarter horses. Our cattle herd consists of approximately 10,000 mother cows comprised of 60 percent Hereford and 40 percent Angus/Hereford and Brangus/Hereford cross. [6] His children would elect a Board of Trustees, who would make decisions with him at the helm. Buster Wharton Jr., a polo player, playboy, and famous drunk who died of cirrhosis of the liver in 1963. Its a trade that suits only a select few for whom the life satisfies rather than restricts. W T Waggoner Ranch Brand Honoring Waggoner Ranch Family and Owners Canvas Print by Richard W Linford. Bucky looks more like a Little League coach than a cattle baron. [7] Parts of it can be seen from highways U.S. 183 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. Richard King and Captain James Walworth's King Ranch brand was registered June 27, 1859 3. W.T. The letters were typed by his secretary, Neely told me. Waggoner found oil while drilling for water. 1700 Deaf Smith St., Vernon, TX 76384, US. Cattle - W. T. Waggoner Ranch After a hard rain, this endless maze of graded red clay becomes a network of quagmires. The Waggoner Ranch owns all of the land surrounding and under these lakes, but the water itself is used for off-site municipal water purposes. Waggoner Estate operating approximately 150 of these wells and 40 independent operators operating the balance. [6] Other towns nearby include Electra and Seymour. In early 1963 Buster filed a lawsuit, seeking a dispensation to sell shares, but he died before the matter was litigated. He kept the east side of the ranch, called White Face, for himself. After that, negotiations were dead in the water. Gene remembered it differently. Waggoner Ranch is, the five-time winner of the Texas Ranch Roundup and a recipient of the American Quarter Horse Associations Best of the Remuda Award.. The Wichita River, the two branches of Beaver Creek, countless small streams and tributaries, and dozens of stock tanks supply the ranchs water. The cowboys are already waiting on horseback just outside the loading pens, cutting up like schoolboys awaiting the bell for recess. He borrowed a large sum from his nonagenarian grandmother, Ella, who later transferred the note to E. Paul. Its been vacant ever since. Dan sent Tom (his son), who was only 16 years old at the time, to Kansas City with a herd of 5,000 steers. We opened it up. Today the home is bright and welcoming. No one, it seems, wants to witness the breakup of a mythic Texas ranchexcept the Waggoner heirs. Since his retirement, in 1991, Proctor has lived in Vernon, raising a few cows and tending his yard. [9] One of the lakes on the ranch provides water for the City of Wichita Falls. The Running W is the brand for the King Ranch located in south Texas close to Kingsville, Tx. In a January 2003 deposition, Gene said he sent Bucky his own draft of the map but never got a reply. The cowboys sided with Bucky, who felt that hunters left litter, cut fences, and left gates open. 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. 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. Residents of Waggoner Ranch told to vacate property by Rams - Chron Bring on the Shiplap. Be alert all the time and ready to go, he says in a strong, sure voice. On the other three sides are a number of buildings constructed of identical reddish-brown stone, quarried on the eastern part of the ranch. This treated water is used for human consumption to serve the substantial headquarter improvements. All canvas prints are professionally printed, assembled, and shipped within 3 - 4 business days and delivered ready-to-hang on your wall. In one, he wished Electra happy birthday and said, I bought you a $2,500 bond.. Both families are already fabulously wealthy, though the wealth is in the land rather than their pockets. I was there. We would love to have our customers come by and see us and see our newly remodeled store. Waggoner Ranch with all of its history and be a part of its future unbridled potential. Before the day is done, well spot hundreds of deer and numerous herds of feral hogs, fifty or sixty in a bunch, wee piglets scurrying to keep up. 2021 Chas S Middleton and Son. For several years there were no further attempts to settle. [6], After W.T. The Waggoner (Three D) Ranch had its beginnings in the early 1850s when Daniel Waggonerqv and a fifteen-year-old black slave trailed 242 longhorn cattleqv and six horses into Wise County. Deal of the Century: Waggoner Ranch - The Land Report On each of those transactions, Kroenke had relied on Leadbetter's counsel and the insights of Sam Connolly, general manager of Kroenke Ranches. A portion of this acreage is seeded to very productive Coastal Bermuda. Or you draw a line and Ill take first pick.. But when I talked to Judge Neely in October, he told me, No, that wasnt my ruling. The two sides had agreed to this wording: An event has occurred [Buckys notice of termination] which requires the winding up of. This rare phenomenon. Waggoner first settled his wife and son, William Thomas (Tom) Waggoner,qv in a home on Catlett Creek near the site of present Decatur. How Florence ButtNot Her SonLaunched the H-E-B Empire, More Colorful Texas Sayings Than You Can Shake a Stick At. They cant wait to get started. There are several other large ponds, as well as hundreds of livestock ponds scattered throughout the property. . According to a 2005 article in The Western Horseman Magazine, But another event in 1902 had a lasting impact on the Waggoner Ranch. E. Paul, a whiskey-drinking, poker-playing party animal, stayed married to his wife, Helen, for fifty years, but few people doubted the rumors that he kept mistresses in Mexico and South Texas. I got two dollars a match. Cecil Smith, the world-famous ten-goal player, rode with Busters Waggoner Ranch team. Horses have always been big business at the Waggoner Ranch. W.T. the estate. Judge Neely accepted this language. 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. Potential buyers include a group of Japanese investors, Ross Perot Jr., Boone Pickens, even the Mormon churchor so go the rumors. The ranch is reported to be the largest contiguous ranching operation of its kind under one fence in Texas, and one of the largest in the United States. Some whitetail deer on the Waggoner Ranch are estimated to be of Boone and Crockett quality. On the map of Texas it appears as a great emptiness south of Vernon, occupied only by the thin strip of U.S. 183/283. It comprises 520,000 acres in six counties, and is the home for 12,000 mother cows. And You Thought Feral Hogs Were Bad. Its now the home of Electras grandson, Bucky Wharton, his wife, Joline, and their two children. Nearby Vernon, which serves as the famed headquarters for the ranch operations office complex, receives an average of 28 inches per year. They almost killed him with kindness, literally. We were talking in Buckys office, a large corner suite on the second floor of the long, low W. T. Waggoner Estate Building just off the main highway in Vernon. 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. They built him a grand home on West Cache Creek, the only permanent structure between Fort Sill and the Texas border, and the chief decorated the roof of his Comanche White House with fourteen stars, symbolizing his generalship in battle. I never saw him on horseback except during a parade. E. Paul was a famous charmer, though his wife, Helen, perhaps saw his romanticism through more practical eyes. As land was cleared for settlement, he gradually moved west and by the late 1870s settled along Beaver Creek near Electra Texas. Cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch - Photography Book by Jeremy Enlow By the turn of the century, settlers were overrunning Indian reservations, and the open range was all but gone. He was teaching at Will Rogers Elementary School, in Houston, where Helen Biggs was also a teacher. But Gene and Helen seem determined to do just that. This historic brand has been used in one form or another since that date, making it one of the very oldest brands in Texas.