The squabbling that has ensnared the ranch for almost a century began on Christmas Day of that year, when W.T. One of the striking sights as you leave the ranch is the sudden appearance of enormous green fields of cotton, wheat, and alfalfa. and 283. Both were famous for breeding, the King Ranch for Santa Gertrudis cattle, the Waggoner Ranch for cutting horses. (Waggoner) hit oil instead. Biggss brother-in-law was the president of General Motors, and he later named a Buick model for Electra. At the time of acquisition, the ranch comprised 520,527 acres (210,650ha), or 800sqmi (2,100km2) but additional acreage was included in the sale making the total closer to 535,000 acres (217,000ha). Dan sent Tom (his son), who was only 16 years old at the time, to Kansas City with a herd of 5,000 steers. The W.T. Thats the only reason anyone would want to sell.. Consequently, climate data can vary over such a large area of the state. A granite marker, weighing four tons, notes his grave site. Moreover, a sale would be taxed and so would the distribution of the money. Wichita Falls, the county seat of Wichita County, is approximately 20 miles east of the eastern boundary of the ranch. In over 165 years of the Waggoner family ownership, commercial hunting has never been allowed on this expansive ranch. Its pastures and wheat fields, cattle and horses, mansions. 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. Moore resigned as trustee in the early eighties, at a critical moment for the estate. Fire Ants Have Unleashed Chaos in Texas for Decades. By the late fifties, forces were marshalling to ensure total control for E. Paul and his heirs. Slaughter (Slaughter Ranches), Jim Loving (JA Ranch) and Dan and W.T. Both families are already fabulously wealthy, though the wealth is in the land rather than their pockets. [3] It spans six counties[3][6] and is half as large as Rhode Island. The party bagged seventeen wolves (some of which were really coyotes), and the president beat a five-foot rattlesnake to death with his quirt. Waggoner left behind in East Texas the grave of his wife. Approximately 160,000 acres of the 560,000 acres areproven prolific oilproperties. S. Middleton & Son in Lubbock are honored to announce the exclusive offering of the historic W.T. They include a bunkhouse for single cowboys, more homes for the foreman and senior cowboys, a cookhouse, several maintenance sheds, and a truck barn. Maybe thats why Judge Neely told me that he has no intention of setting a deadline. Each camp is equipped with a managers house, outbuildings and pens. Nothing is too trivial to spark an argument. Didnt any of them have to work or suffer to get it. 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. I saw them together at a backyard wedding two years ago, but they stayed on opposite sides of the yard, Jim Hughes told me. What must be going through his mind? But the Willinghams arent talkingabout the lawsuit or anything else. 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. Rani's World Foods (Texas & Nevada) - Indian supermarket chain. WHAT WE DO: We deliver strategic, brand-driven marketing communications solutions and deploy content that truly resonates . Since Electra IIs death, in 2001, the board has been composed of these two men who rarely speak to each other. 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. When full, Lake Kemp covers an area of over 16,540 surface acres and Lake Diversion covers approximately 3,420 surface acres. 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. 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. The land was used primarily to raise crops, beef cattleand horsesas well as for oil production. [14] Her second cousin, Albert Buckman Wharton III, also known as Bucky Wharton, who was Buster Wharton's son, appealed to stop the liquidation. Some people think that the last chance for a settlement died with Electra II. Waggoner Ranch, the 800-square-mile plot of land in North Texas, is really big. This iconic ranch property has been owned and operated by Waggoner heirs for approximately 165 years. Approximately 41.67% of the mineral rights with a pro-rata portion of the executive leasing rights are expected to convey with the sale. For several years there were no further attempts to settle. The Waggoner is the largest U.S. ranch within one fence, measuring 520,527 acres (207,000 hectares) or 800 square miles (2,072 square kilometers). Who was going to be responsible for it? The squabbling that has ensnared the ranch for almost a century began on Christmas Day of. 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. Waggoners have a series of brands that go on each foal, the history of which goes back to the days of W. T. Waggoner. But Buckys mother was not about to give up her sons inheritance without a fight. The facility is equipped to do embryo transfers and has both indoor and outdoor arenas, two barns, and over 30 stalls. It is as much a part of the legacy as horses, cattle, oil, opulent mansions, divorces, and drunken sprees. His daddy worked this ranch for fifteen years, and Shane grew up on Cowboy Row. And so they were, for a hundred years and more. . Her best-known work is the statue of Will Rogers on horseback at the entrance to the Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum, in Fort Worth. They were super, super people. Nevertheless, Smith resigned in 1997, tired of being caught in the middle of the power struggle. We report on vital issues from politics to education and are the indispensable authority on the Texas scene, covering everything from music to cultural events with insightful recommendations. 20% off all products! This is what shes good at, raising cattle. Hawley is 52 and has been at the ranch since 1972, working his way up from cowpuncher to straw boss to headquarters boss and finally to ranch manager. The color of this ground is the color of the ranch, Bucky told me as we bumped over the maze of rutted roads, he driving his Toyota Land Cruiser and talking nonstop and I jumping out to open gates. But Wait, There's More A smattering of the more than 4,000 items listed on the. [4][8] From 1889 to 1903, they acquired land in Wichita County, Wilbarger County as well as Foard County, Knox County, Baylor County and Archer County. The Bronc-busting, Cow-punching, Death-defying Legend of Boots ONeal, At Texas Swingers Clubs, the Lifestyle Is Booming. In 1965 he replaced Tony Hazelwood as foreman. They work six and sometimes seven days a week, from daylight until the job is done, often late at night. He began buying land in western Wise County in 1870. The operation can breed outside mares as well as ship cooled or frozen semen. This well-renowned offering includes the 510,527 contiguous acres, together with all permanent improvements, approximately 41.67% of the mineral estate, all water rights, and all wind generation royalty rights. Cowboys worry that the feud will destroy the ranch. This is your chance to purchase the W.T. Nearby Vernon, which serves as the famed headquarters for the ranch operations office complex, receives an average of 28 inches per year. When Helens father died, in 1975, they moved to the ranch, where Gene gradually assumed the position of head of the family. One closet was filled with fur coats, another with 350 pairs of shoes, and yet a third with the latest gowns from Paris and New Yorkand she was said never to wear one more than once. Waggoner Ranch is a working one, with 20 cowboy camps scattered throughout the property to house the more than 120 workers. This treated water is used for human consumption to serve the substantial headquarter improvements. In one, he wished Electra happy birthday and said, I bought you a $2,500 bond.. Potential buyers include a group of Japanese investors, Ross Perot Jr., Boone Pickens, even the Mormon churchor so go the rumors. Hes not a large man, but his pleasant and unassuming manner and his quiet, considered confidence give him stature. What the hell could he do with oil! | We opened it up. Today the home is bright and welcoming. The horses are bred for working ranch purposes,and many still carry the bloodline of the famous quarter horse, Poco Bueno; Decendants of the Waggoner family sold the ranch to Kroenke-Ranches of Bozeman, MT in 2016. These live creeks and their tributaries provide a desirable source of livestock water throughout the property. Horses have always been big business at the Waggoner Ranch. He owns a bank, an oil company, and a cattle company, but he is happiest when he is working outdoors or having dinner with his family. All rights reserved. The major drainages through the ranch are Beaver Creek, which starts on the west side of the ranch and runs through the entirety of the northern portion of the property, and the North Wichita and the South Wichita Rivers, which converge in the southwest portion of the ranch and meander through the entire south side of the property. 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. Gene has told people that the ranch would sell in no time, the whole 520,000 acres. W.T. G. W T Waggoner Ranch Brand Honoring Waggoner Ranch Family and Owners Canvas Print by Richard W Linford. Reply Anonymous February 3, 2013 at 8:00 PM In the Roaring Twenties, Electra Waggoner was the most infamous socialite in Texas. The South and Westernportionsof the ranch are within the shelf and slope regions ofthe carbonate platform where the application ofnew seismictechnology tied to solid geological models will lead to a verysuccessful venture. The major block of this farmland, which is located on the northwest side of the ranch, contains approximately 14,000 acres. An enormous picture window with a panoramic view of the ranch replaced the porthole-size window of 1910. You have no voice here and you never will.. Its second only to the King Ranch in size, and second to none in its history of drink, divorce, and dissension. 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. In May, Judge Neely heard the motion for partial summary judgment and made his ruling. This is a robust and versatile multi-faceted operation like none other available on the market today. For the past 15 years, champions at both the National Reining Association and the National Cutting Horse Association Futurity have had Waggoner bloodlines in their pedigree. Currently, the ranch has a water well lease on a nearby offsite well, which furnishes livestock water through an extensive waterline network to the large block of farmland located on the northwest side of the ranch, and also to the main ranch headquarters. Some of the wells discovered in the 1920s are still in operation. So what does it all mean? 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. When it is necessary for them to be in the same room, they let third parties do the talking. In later years, W.T. It would be Helens husband, Gene Willingham, who would one day become Bucky Whartons main opponent in the struggle over the Waggoner Ranch. This was probably a bluff. That became the seed money for the Waggoner empire. I got two dollars a match. Cecil Smith, the world-famous ten-goal player, rode with Busters Waggoner Ranch team. Worth Metroplex area. Today, the ranch boasts 7 stallions and over 90 broodmares containing bloodlines of Poco Bueno, High Brow Cat, Peppy San Badger, Top Sail Cody, Smart Chic Olena, and Wimpys Little Step. hoped that his kids would learn to ranch and develop a sense of responsibility. 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. Copyright 2023 Waggoner Ranch Store - All Rights Reserved. Cowboys are a different breed. All canvas prints are professionally printed, assembled, and shipped within 3 - 4 business days and delivered ready-to-hang on your wall. They communicate by written memos, even though their offices are separated by only a few feet. On each of those transactions, Kroenke had relied on Leadbetter's counsel and the insights of Sam Connolly, general manager of Kroenke Ranches. 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. [13] He once played there with polo champion Cecil Smith. 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.. 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). Can College Sports Get More Absurd Than SMU Joining the Pac-12? Main interests of the company are ranching, oil, and approximately 26,000 acres in cultivation. He began buying land in western Wise County in 1870. Both lakes offer good fishing, boating, and water skiing, and the Waggoner Ranch leases out approximately 500 privately-owned housing sites surrounding these two lakes. A municipal waterline from nearby Seymour serves some of the homes located at Lake Kemp. The main set of shipping pens are located along the highway at the Zacaweista Headquarters Division. They were mailed while she was socializing in New York with her daughter, named after E. Pauls sister, Electra, and known as Electra II. [8], After the death of Daniel Waggoner in 1902, his son W.T. Neither the Willinghams nor the Whartons have the funds to buy the other out. Thats what folks in Vernon, Electra, Seymour, and other towns near the Waggoner Ranch are asking as they watch one of Texass greatest ranching empires teeter on the brink of disintegration. The Waggoner Ranch can be characterized as a potential sportsmans paradise. 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. Concerned about the future of the ranch, W.T. Bucky wanted to make it clear that he believed the situation was untenable. Though there are more than two thousand miles of road inside the ranch, there are hardly any road signs or navigational landmarks. 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. The Big Pasture, however, remained available for grazing and hunting. All pens are very well maintained. Many thousands of additional acres of native pasture are suitable for cultivation, if desired. Dan and W.T. I worked a couple of weeks gauging wells. Nobodys sure. Buster received income from his share of the estate, but he had no role in the ranch management and was happy to leave the ranching to E. Paul. Today, Waggoner descendants still reside at the ranch in two main compounds: Albert B. Wharton, III lives at the Zacaweista (Indian term for good grass) Headquarters and Helen Biggs Willingham and her husband Gene live at the Santa Rosa Headquarters. I ask him what he thinks of the family feud that threatens to end the way of life that he knew. The substantial structural improvements, thousands of miles of fences and roads, hundreds of earthen pond dam sites, rolling stock, waterlines, natural gas and oilfield lines, oil field equipment, the Waggoner office building, the included livestock (horses and cattle) and the entire operation are offered as a turn-key sale on an as-is, where-is basis. The farmers probably didnt need intimidating. 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. The gifts were not entirely altruistic. By all rights the Waggoner Ranch ought to be the equal of the King Ranch in Texas lore. Waggoner Ranch livestock have access to water at both lakes. When they supplied them, he fumed. Waggoner raised Quarter Horses on the ranch, including Poco Bueno, who was buried on the ranch. The ranch includes thousands of cattle, hundreds of horses and oil wells, and 30,000 acres of. FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) One of the largest ranches in the U.S. and an icon for Texas horse and cattlemen has been listed for $725 million, marking the end of a decades-long courtroom battle among. But by the 1920s, with the advent of the automobile, W.T.s attitude about oil had changed. But we are so far from the lights of townany townthat half an hour before daylight its still pitch black. Forrest Wilder writes about politics and the outdoors. The ranch is approximately 175 miles northwest of the Dallas/Ft. In early 1963 Buster filed a lawsuit, seeking a dispensation to sell shares, but he died before the matter was litigated. I guess you could say its traumatic, but in two or three days the calves will forget they ever had mamas, Weldon Hawley says in response to my city-boy question. Choose from multiple print sizes, border colors, and canvas materials. He secretly wanted his favorite, Electra, to draw Zacaweista, because it was nearest to his homestead. After a time everyone seemed in agreement on all except one pointmaintenance of the dam at Santa Rosa Lake. This was a time when much of Texas was open range and unexplored. At every opportunity, Dan Waggoner purchased land. In 1869 Dan made seventeen-year-old W.T. 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. W.T. Though he wouldnt talk about the lawsuit, he spoke freely about his bewildering transformation from New Mexico schoolboy to co-owner of one of the countrys most famous ranches. B. 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. 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. Sign up to receive timely, useful information in your inbox. After that, negotiations were dead in the water. Gene remembered it differently. They buried him standing up, Hughes informs me. How could things have spun so wildly out of control? Seymour, the county seat of Baylor County, is several miles south of the ranch, and has a runway that is 4,300 feet long. Free shipping for many products! Thats the case that has been snaking through Judge Tom Neelys Forty-sixth District Court, in Wilbarger County, for these past twelve years. Other areas show substantial regrowth, and those areas of the ranch with a dense canopy of mesquite offer exceptional protection for wildlife. Find a huge selection of trailers from DooLittle and SureTrac in MO. After the first freeze, 120,000 geese will land on Santa Rosa Lake and feast on winter wheat fields. 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. Sep 1989 - Present33 years 6 months. 27 of 56 28 of 56 Cowboys on the Waggoner Ranch brand calves in the spring of 1983. He had grown up in Albuquerque, where his mother, the third of Buster Whartons four wives, had moved after their divorce, when Bucky was two. 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. L. Proctor was foreman when I got here, and I made him my model., The ranch has about thirty cowboys, many of them second- and third-generation Waggoner employees. W.T. Add to cart. A portion of this acreage is seeded to very productive Coastal Bermuda. Bernard Uechtritz, one of the property brokers, told the. 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. These camps range in size from just over 20,000 acres to nearly 40,000 acres each. The bidding period on the ranch, going for $725 million, ended Oct. 20 with about six serious potential buyers. They wintered the herd that year in Clay County and the following spring drove it to market, netting a profit of $55,000. Additionally, all livestock (cattle and horses), an extremely substantial inventory of rolling stock, farm equipment, pickups, trucks, etc., and considerable other personal property are included in this offering. At Christmas, they exchange giftsby messenger. We try not to put stress on the livestock.. He borrowed a large sum from his nonagenarian grandmother, Ella, who later transferred the note to E. Paul. [6] Specifically, this went to Albert Buckman Wharton, Jr., also known as Buster Wharton, who was Electra Waggoner's son, and Electra Waggoner Biggs, who was E. Paul Waggoner's daughter. You get in here far enough, it just swallows you up, Hughes tells me. Texas Purple Hull Pea Festival Is More Than an Event. Patel Brothers - largest Indian American supermarket chain. Its a weird deal. The majority of the ranch is in native pasture, supporting a mixed variety of palatable native grasses. At midnight, March 31, 2003, the clock ran out on the W. T. Waggoner trust. On a Dan Waggonerfinanced trip to Fort Worth, Chief Yellow Bear was asphyxiated and Quanah nearly was when the Indians blew out the gas lamp in their hotel room before retiring. The mesquite trees that now dominate the land arrived later, their seeds transported in cow droppings as herds from South Texas passed through on their way to railheads in Kansas. One thing you dont see on the ranch is windmills. 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. Some of the larger main shipping pens are equipped with hydraulic chutes and scales. Its a perfect October morning, cool and crisp, and the ranch spreads out in every direction, 25 miles north to south, 30 miles east to west. The W. T. Waggoner Ranch is five-time winner of the Texas Ranch Roundup and a recipient of the American Quarter Horse Association's "Best of the Remuda Award". Lake Kemp, a popular North Texas fishing and recreational site, is located approximately 40 miles west of Wichita Falls in Cara Blanca Park, the recreational park surrounding the lake. Be alert all the time and ready to go, he says in a strong, sure voice. [9] One of the lakes on the ranch provides water for the City of Wichita Falls. Quanah delivered the land to the Waggoners and other cattle baronsat one time, Waggoner and son leased 650,000 acres for an annual payment of $30,000and the cattle barons made Quanah rich and famous. After dinner by the creek, Dan suggested that they all ride into Frederick, Oklahoma, personally setting the pace. By the 1880s, the Waggoners Victorian mansion, El Castile, was the most prominent structure in Decatur. After her husband died, Electra II did not keep up the pressure on Bucky, as John Biggs and Killen Moore had done. I think there were twenty-five or twenty-seven attorneys involved, he recalled. The family made their main homes in the city and returned to the ranch for weekend getaways and holidays. Historically, the Waggoner Ranch has been operated as a cow/calf ranching unit, with stocker cattle used for seasonal grazing on wheat fields. Waggoner Ranch is now officially, for the first time ever in its history, offered for sale on the international marketplace. All I ever knew is the Waggoner Ranch, he tells me. At an early age, Dan started building what would become a ranching empire and founded the Waggoner Ranch in 1849. 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! But even as board members, they were powerless to exercise any authority over the ranch, except to elect future trustees. He knows the ranch, its cast of characters, and its skeletons and stories as well as any outsider. Waggoner met in Graham, Texas, and formed what today is known as the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA), which is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. But W.T. The horse operation, known as the Whiteface Division, is a state-of-the-art training/breeding facility located in the northeastern portion of the Waggoner Ranch. We always meet with our employees present, and nothing is really handled. They have quarreled over which wells to cap or abandon, over control of the corporate airplane, over the purchase of bulls and the size of cow herds. This land sits atop the Seymour Aquifer, while the ranch itself is bone-dry. They ride the trails of their forebearers, living a life and practicing skills that have almost disappeared. As previously noted, this massive holding spans six North Texas counties. Because of Toms great influence on the horse industry, he became a founding member of the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA). 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. [10], By 1909, W.T. Buckys home sits on one side of the square. The Waggoner Ranch was established in 1849 by Dan Waggoner. 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. Electra died in 1925 at the age of 43, her life and much of her fortune spent on extravagance. 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. The cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch are living legends, men who embody the attributes of the lean and dusty riders who braved the wild a century ago to make room for a herd. Two large, privately-owned lakes are located on the Waggoner Ranch. For more than a century the520,000-acre Waggoner Ranch has been an inseparable part of the culture and fabric of the Red River country west of Wichita Fallsand of Texas itself. Dan took advantage of this great opportunity. Today, the W. T. Waggoner Ranch is managed by Sam Connolly of Bozeman. [6], After W.T. They almost killed him with kindness, literally.
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