[9] It also includes 30,000 acres of arable land and about 1,100 producing oil wells. (Tom) Waggoner had a good eye for quality horse flesh and developed a herd of broodmares to produce working ranch geldings for his cowboys. After the first freeze, 120,000 geese will land on Santa Rosa Lake and feast on winter wheat fields. 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. 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. W T Waggoner Ranch Brand Honoring Waggoner Ranch Family and Owners We have unique items that feature our brand. Sachueista Gate - WT Waggoner Estate Ranch - Vernon, Texas This iconic ranch property has been owned and operated by Waggoner heirs for approximately 165 years. W. T. Waggoner Ranch is located 13 miles south of Vernon, Texas with office headquarters in Vernon. 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. 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. Mesquite is the major invader in this part of Texas. One of the striking sights as you leave the ranch is the sudden appearance of enormous green fields of cotton, wheat, and alfalfa. Dan sent Tom (his son), who was only 16 years old at the time, to Kansas City with a herd of 5,000 steers. Today, the W. T. Waggoner Ranch is managed by Sam Connolly of Bozeman. She left an enduring reputation and two children from the first of her three marriages: Tom Waggoner Wharton, who died of syphilis at age 25, eight-times married but childless, and A. Nobodys sure. Moore resigned as trustee in the early eighties, at a critical moment for the estate. Each camp is equipped with a managers house, outbuildings and pens. As it turned out, he didnt. ACRES 825,000. 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. Moore astonished Bucky by trying to buy his stock in the estate. In the Roaring Twenties, Electra Waggoner was the most infamous socialite in Texas. Anne was the granddaughter of W.T.s friend Burk Burnett and hardly the type to sit around waiting for a roving husband. Waggoner Ranch, the 800-square-mile plot of land in North Texas, is really big. 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. King Ranch. Why do they fight on? 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. Some area ranches have rural water systems available, but still principally rely on creeks and ponds as their major water source. Thats the only reason anyone would want to sell.. The Waggoner Ranchis a historic north Texasranch located 13 miles south of Vernon, Texas. After Guy died, E. Paul and Buster faced the issue of what would become of his shares in the Waggoner estate. 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. And You Thought Feral Hogs Were Bad. When my wife got sick with cancer, Gene and Buck got the company plane to fly her to M. D. Anderson. 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. Cowboys ambling from the bunkhouse to the cookhouse for their five-thirty breakfast see her loping across pastures, dodging bulls and pump jacks. List of supermarket chains in the United States - Wikipedia Probably the nation's largest single-parcel ranch, the 510,000-acre property is about 175 miles northwest of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and 12 miles south of Vernon, the county seat of. 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. Add to cart. You can still see Busters polo fields across the road from the big house Electra had built, next to his landing strip, and the skeet- and trap-shooting range where he and his guests gunned down live pigeons. Inside the Decades-long Effort to Commemorate a Notorious Waco Lynching. The headquarters at Zacaweista is a small, self-contained village built around a park that the cowboys call the square. In its center lies the grave of Tony Hazelwood, a legendary Waggoner cowboy and longtime foreman, who died in 1965. The little village of Lockett, where the descendants of those settlers now live, is wet in another way: It is the nearest spot where citizens of Vernon can buy beer and liquor. The dam was right on the dividing line. This huge block of farmland is crossfenced into large manageable fields which are suitable for grazing thousands of head of wheat pasture cattle. Either Guys two children would become their partners or E. Paul and Buster would have to buy them out. 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. Home | Mid America | Utility Flatbed Trailers in St Louis MO and Dump [11] Buster raised polo ponies and established the El Ranchio Polo Club on the ranch. When they presented the map to Gene, they say, he asked for more details. It would be Helens husband, Gene Willingham, who would one day become Bucky Whartons main opponent in the struggle over the Waggoner Ranch. 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. This was probably a bluff. Sign up to hear from us about specials, sales, and events. 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. In one, he wished Electra happy birthday and said, I bought you a $2,500 bond.. Land Broker and Land Appraisalfirm established in 1920. TSHA | Waggoner Ranch - Handbook Of Texas The entryway is glass, and there is a skylight over the vaulted ceiling above the staircase. [8] W.T. HOUCHRON CAPTION (07/27/2003): A calf is branded on the ranch in 1983. Several small on-site water wells are also located in this large block of farmland. 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. Copyright 2023 Waggoner Ranch Store - All Rights Reserved. If you fill out the first name, last name, or agree to terms fields, you will NOT be added to the newsletter list. 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. The Bold Brand - The Land Report Be alert all the time and ready to go, he says in a strong, sure voice. They seldom speak and hardly ever socialize. The many improvements and related assets mentioned above combine to offer the purchaser an extremely attractive depreciation schedule. Neither of her parents came to the wedding; biographer Porter reports that E. Paul and Helen were having marital problems. There are several other large ponds, as well as hundreds of livestock ponds scattered throughout the property. Cowboying isnt a profession, its a life, but if the Waggoner Ranch is broken up into pieces, that life will exist no more. 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. There is also a rumor that the Willinghams have already bought a home in Fort Worth. They buried him standing up, Hughes informs me. These are the men who made the ranch work while the Waggoners were off in Fort Worth or New York or Europe. But we are so far from the lights of townany townthat half an hour before daylight its still pitch black. The Waggoner Ranch fully supports the AQHA initiative to implement the Ranchers Heritage Breeders Program and the AQHA Versatility Ranch Horse Program with current staff serving as a member of two AQHA Committees. I think there were twenty-five or twenty-seven attorneys involved, he recalled. (It still is, except for the magnificent Wise County courthouse.) In later years, W.T. PRIMARY USE cow-calf, feed yard, farming, horses, oil and gas, wild game hunting, birding . We would love to have our customers come by and see us and see our newly remodeled store. was determined to keep Electra nearby. 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The wooded river and creek courses offer exceptional cover and desirable habitat for native game. Seymour, the county seat of Baylor County, is several miles south of the ranch, and has a runway that is 4,300 feet long. 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. 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. He secretly wanted his favorite, Electra, to draw Zacaweista, because it was nearest to his homestead. 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. The Waggoner Ranch Store is located in the Waggoner Estate building in Vernon Texas. Since his retirement, in 1991, Proctor has lived in Vernon, raising a few cows and tending his yard. These live creeks and their tributaries provide a desirable source of livestock water throughout the property. The main set of shipping pens are located along the highway at the Zacaweista Headquarters Division. . With the trust on the verge of expiring, Bucky and Electra II agreed to extend it until March 31, 2003. Main interests of the company are ranching, oil, and approximately 26,000 acres in cultivation. 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. 940-552-2521 x:270. He served as trustee, and his three children, Guy Waggoner, Electra Waggoner Wharton, and E. Paul Waggoner comprised the Board of Directors. 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. Its a constant battle. Over these past three decades, Bucky has absorbed every inch of this ranch and most of its colorful history. He was teaching at Will Rogers Elementary School, in Houston, where Helen Biggs was also a teacher. 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. [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. As previously noted, this massive holding spans six North Texas counties. Much of the ranch is covered with mesquite, cedar, and prickly pear, and when the sun softens late in the evening, the dull green of the vegetation and the deep red of the soil give the ranch the pastel serenity of a Mexican village. No Waggoner is buried on the ranch, only this one cowboy and a few early settlers in unmarked graves. (Tom) Waggoner was heard to say, There I was with more t, han 5,000 big, wild steers, 50 sore-backed horses, $12 and 16 years of my life.. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. All during the spring and summer of 2003, they talked of little else. All rights reserved. Its absence symbolizes the fate of the Guy Waggoner clan in the history of the ranch. The cowboys are already waiting on horseback just outside the loading pens, cutting up like schoolboys awaiting the bell for recess. In May, Judge Neely heard the motion for partial summary judgment and made his ruling. 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. On each of those transactions, Kroenke had relied on Leadbetter's counsel and the insights of Sam Connolly, general manager of Kroenke Ranches. Two large, privately-owned lakes are located on the Waggoner Ranch. There are none to be seen, because there is not a drop of groundwater. He kept the east side of the ranch, called White Face, for himself. The land was used primarily to raise crops, beef cattleand horsesas well as for oil production. The answer lies in the rich and rowdy heritage of the Waggoner clan. Thats the case that has been snaking through Judge Tom Neelys Forty-sixth District Court, in Wilbarger County, for these past twelve years. She was a genteel and educated woman, polished at Miss Wrights finishing school at Bryn Mawr, a person who hated the details of ranching but respected and loved the tradition. Waggoner Ranch with all of its history and be a part of its future unbridled potential. He ended up using it for cattle dip, and the well became Electras city dump., Near the entrance to Zacaweista, once the home of the first Electra, we stop at the grave of Poco Bueno. Currently, Waggoner Ranch offspring are excelling in multiple competitive associations, including AQHA, Stock Horse of Texas, NRHA, NRCHA and NCHA. He pointed to an impenetrable thicket of mesquite and told me, Thirty years ago we cleared that pasture, all the way to Beaver Creek. Apparently they just agreed to continue to disagree. Its been vacant ever since. Poco Bueno sired 36 AQHA Champions, and many of his offspring have excelled in all the different disciplines of modern day horse events. W.T. 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. These camps range in size from just over 20,000 acres to nearly 40,000 acres each. Potential buyers include a group of Japanese investors, Ross Perot Jr., Boone Pickens, even the Mormon churchor so go the rumors. 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. After her husband died, Electra II did not keep up the pressure on Bucky, as John Biggs and Killen Moore had done. We opened it up. Today the home is bright and welcoming. 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. Find a huge selection of trailers from DooLittle and SureTrac in MO. 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. Bernard Uechtritz of Briggs-Freeman Sothebys International Realty in Dallas, and Sam Middleton, of Chas. The nearly 30,000 acres of farmland is generally farmed in wheat for grazing, but Coastal Bermuda fields and haygrazer fields are baled and used to feed cattle and also to supply quality hay for the large horse operation. After a big wedding in Decatur, the couple honeymooned in Europe and then planned to settle in Philadelphia. 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. Who was going to be responsible for it? The settlers, most of them German or Czech, moved north of Paradise Creek, which runs just beyond the present northern boundary of the ranch. You Can Now Buy a Texas Ranch That's the Size of a Small Nation, For Brokers: Sale of Waggoner ranch looks hopeful as bidding ends - Chron He began buying land in western Wise County in 1870. But selling the ranchor, worse still, permitting the court to liquidate itwould cost both sides dearly in taxes and prestige. 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. 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! He either didnt care or didnt notice that E. Pauls clanespecially his socialite wife, Helenconsidered Electras line of the family to be tainted and Buster to be an irresponsible spendthrift, and they were plotting for the day when they could force the Whartons out. Horses have always been big business at the Waggoner Ranch. Approximately 41.67% of the mineral rights with a pro-rata portion of the executive leasing rights are expected to convey with the sale. They communicate by written memos, even though their offices are separated by only a few feet. W.T. She finally pulled up in front of the Vernon drugstore, pieces of gate and fence hanging off the car, Bucky tells me. An additional 320 acres were then purchased in 1856 near the small town of Decatur, marking the first major expansion of Waggoner's estate. My dockets not that crowded, he said. I cant sit down, never could, he tells me. In 1877, Burk Burnett (6666 Ranch), Col. C.C. Map: The Waggoner Ranch is really, really big, y'all - MySA The property is divided into approximately 16 camp or division units. Residents of Waggoner Ranch told to vacate property by Rams - Chron As Parker biographer Bill Neeley has noted, ethics and morality played no part of this business arrangement. Waggoner Ranch - Wikipedia They are already being augmented by Kroenke Ranches' world-class commercial Angus herd. By contrast, Bucky is reserved, private, and serious about his business affairs. 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. Shortly after leaving, he got his draft notice, at the height of the Vietnam War. Deal of the Century: Waggoner Ranch - The Land Report 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. Both were famous for breeding, the King Ranch for Santa Gertrudis cattle, the Waggoner Ranch for cutting horses. Hes not a large man, but his pleasant and unassuming manner and his quiet, considered confidence give him stature. Concerned about the future of the ranch, W.T. 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. [9] In 1902, W.T. This legendary horse was named the Grand Champion Stallion at Denvers National Western Stock Show, the Fort Worth Southwestern Exposition and Fat Stock Show, the State Fair of Texas in Dallas, and the American Royal Livestock Show in Kansas City. Heath@WaggonerRanch.com Guy, who eventually settled on another ranch the family owned in New Mexico, married eight times. 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. Now he lives in the bunkhouse. All-night parties that started at Shadowlawn sometimes ended up on the ranch, after a trip by private railroad car, so that Eastern dandies could be treated to the sights of cowboys branding and castrating calves. We love our customers, so feel free to visit during normal business hours. The Reversed 3Ds is still used as a symbol representing the historic Waggoner Ranch. [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. Bucky wanted the ranch to be divided, not liquidated. In 1965 he replaced Tony Hazelwood as foreman. . [8] Although it still spans six counties, it is primarily centered on Wichita County and Wilbarger County. [6], After W.T. 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. It was notable for being the largest ranch within one fence in the United States. In his entire life, he never drew a paycheck from anyone but the Waggoners. The second Electra was, like her namesake, a globe-hopping socialite (she was once linked romantically to Cary Grant by Hollywood gossip columnist Louella Parsons), but she also was an acclaimed artist, who knew all the celebrities of her day and sculpted busts of many of them. Not a shred, she told me. 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. [8] By 1903, he sold some of the land near China Creek to developers. In later years, W.T. Her best-known work is the statue of Will Rogers on horseback at the entrance to the Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum, in Fort Worth. Vernon, the county seat of Wilbarger County, is located approximately 12 miles due north of the ranch. "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. 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. We could drive the 60 miles from Bull Run Pasture, on the northeast corner, where the 10th Cavalry camped in 1871, to the David Camp, on the southwest corner, and never venture outside the Waggoner fence. Heath Ownbey. Oil was a nuisance, and any good cattleman knew the value of water. An enormous picture window with a panoramic view of the ranch replaced the porthole-size window of 1910. It is the nations biggest ranch within the confines of a single fence, a spread so vast that it extends across six counties and covers more than eight hundred square miles.