He usually dresses in jeans, a polo shirt, and cowboy boots; in the three times I was with him, he never wore a hat or tried to act like a cowboy. Moore resigned as trustee in the early eighties, at a critical moment for the estate. Proctor, whose daddy was a Waggoner cowboy too, went to work for the ranch in 1937, at age thirteen. The house sits on high ground, mostly hidden by oak and pecan trees and a fieldstone wall. 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. Or so people say.. From the highway, its pastures seem timeless and impregnable. $720,000,000 [9] One of the lakes on the ranch provides water for the City of Wichita Falls. They married in 1969. Brokers: Sale of Waggoner ranch looks hopeful as bidding ends - Chron I can remember the Firestones and the Beverages and the cream of New York society flying in for those matches, Don Ross Malone, a Vernon attorney and son of the former game warden for the ranch, told me. They plied him with extravagant gifts: engraved pearl-handled revolvers, diamond stick pins, junkets to Fort Worth, Dallas, and Washington, D.C. 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. I worked for six months with various people in the oil and the ranching divisions, he told me. 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. A unified decision has now been made by the shareholders to sell this legendary ranch. Waggoner Estate operating approximately 150 of these wells and 40 independent operators operating the balance. Reply Anonymous February 3, 2013 at 8:00 PM Wichita Falls, the county seat of Wichita County, is approximately 20 miles east of the eastern boundary of the ranch. TSHA | Waggoner Ranch - Handbook Of Texas 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. LOCATION Brooks, Jim Wells, Kenedy, Kleberg, Nueces, and Willacy counties. B. 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. The summer after his discharge, in 1970, Bucky decided it was time to move to the ranch and begin his real education. This was a time when much of Texas was open range and unexplored. Electra died in 1925 at the age of 43, her life and much of her fortune spent on extravagance. Bucky Wharton didnt think of the ranch as his heritage until he was in high school at Culver Military Academy, in Indiana. The Willingham house is a low, ranch-style brick structure, set behind a wall of trees. Either way, your shopping cart will be active until you leave the store. All together, as one may imagine, with this many contiguous acres, there is an immense variety of land types on the Waggoner. Bernard Uechtritz, one of the property brokers, told the. Traveling to the Four Corners line camp, where Guy Waggoners great home once stood, I tried to imagine that day in the twenties when Anne Burnett Waggoner, the fifth of Guys eight wives, decided shed had enough. On each of those transactions, Kroenke had relied on Leadbetter's counsel and the insights of Sam Connolly, general manager of Kroenke Ranches. We see a bunch of javelinas too, and a bobcat as big as a mountain lion. [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. 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. Electra married A.B. But Buckys mother was not about to give up her sons inheritance without a fight. Poco Bueno sired 36 AQHA Champions, and many of his offspring have excelled in all the different disciplines of modern day horse events. The W.T. Its now the residence of Gene and Helen Willingham. In total, the ranch spans nearly 800 square miles. Numerous large, functional and well designed sets of shipping and working pens are scattered throughout the ranch. had said, I want to run the most cattle, breed the best horses and work harder than anyone. When he was 17, his dad made him a full partner. Its a weird deal. Shortly before she ended her eighteen-year marriage to A.B., she purchased another magnificent home on Preston Road in Highland Park and named it Shadowlawn. 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. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. The land was used primarily to raise crops, beef cattle and horses as well as for oil production. The many improvements and related assets mentioned above combine to offer the purchaser an extremely attractive depreciation schedule. All pens are very well maintained. We would love to have our customers come by and see us and see our newly remodeled store. Cowboys ambling from the bunkhouse to the cookhouse for their five-thirty breakfast see her loping across pastures, dodging bulls and pump jacks. 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. W.T. The party bagged seventeen wolves (some of which were really coyotes), and the president beat a five-foot rattlesnake to death with his quirt. 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. In later years, W.T. hoped that his kids would learn to ranch and develop a sense of responsibility. The history and the legend surrounding the Waggoner Ranch are as big as the ground it covers. Heath@WaggonerRanch.com We love our customers, so feel free to visit during normal business hours. Both families are already fabulously wealthy, though the wealth is in the land rather than their pockets. [6] Other towns nearby include Electra and Seymour. Now he lives in the bunkhouse. Biggs second in command was comptroller Killen Moore, a onetime Internal Revenue Service agent. declared a misdeal and had them draw again. The only thing I can figure, it was give to them. [6] Meanwhile, Electra Waggoner Biggs became a renowned sculptor. $ 58.00. You Can Now Buy a Texas Ranch That's the Size of a Small Nation, For 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. This iconic ranch property has been owned and operated by Waggoner heirs for approximately 165 years. But Gene and Helen seem determined to do just that. 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. Maybe thats why Judge Neely told me that he has no intention of setting a deadline. Can College Sports Get More Absurd Than SMU Joining the Pac-12? The only time we dont work, Hawley tells me, is when its raining and lightning, or when its very hot. Because of Toms great influence on the horse industry, he became a founding member of the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA). The operation can breed outside mares as well as ship cooled or frozen semen. Gene is, by all accounts, gregarious and outgoing, a typical good ol boy who enjoys playing dominoes at the country club. Residents of Waggoner Ranch told to vacate property by Rams - Chron In a deposition filed with the court in 2001, Bucky acknowledged: We do not meet face to face, just he and I. Dan Waggoner, who was born in Tennessee in 1828, moved to Texas with his family in the mid-1840s. Meanwhile, the Waggoner family tree was sprouting more branches. Skyfood Supermarket (six locations in New York) - Asian Oriental Supermarket. No one, it seems, wants to witness the breakup of a mythic Texas ranchexcept the Waggoner heirs. 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. Cowboys worry that the feud will destroy 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. Hawley has a cell phone handy, and the ranch radio under the dash crackles with voices from isolated posts miles away. | Electra prevailed, as usual. Heath Ownbey. Bernard Uechtritz of Briggs-Freeman Sothebys International Realty in Dallas, and Sam Middleton, of Chas. Enlow is an advertising, media and fine arts photographer based in Fort Worth. The letters were typed by his secretary, Neely told me. It may be many years before a similar ranch of this magnitude becomes available, if ever. He secretly wanted his favorite, Electra, to draw Zacaweista, because it was nearest to his homestead. In the lower draws and creek bottoms, hackberry and soapberry trees are common. 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. 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. Bring on the Shiplap. Waggoner Estate Ranch and related assets are now, for the first time ever, being offered for sale at a guideline listed price of. Growing up, the ranch didnt seem like a big deal, Bucky told me. In one last attempt to keep the range open, W.T. By contrast, Bucky is reserved, private, and serious about his business affairs. The Waggoner Ranch can be characterized as a potential sportsmans paradise. His most arresting feature is his green eyes, which are reminiscent of the luminous eyes that made his grandmother, the original Electra, such a commanding figure. This treated water is used for human consumption to serve the substantial headquarter improvements. They chose the latter. The dam was right on the dividing line. 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. He offered him pennies on the dollar for his fifty percent share., It was a paltry amount, Roberson agreed. 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. Its second only to the King Ranch in size, and second to none in its history of drink, divorce, and dissension. Waggoner had built a great ranch, but in 1909 he was 57 years old and thinking about its future. [6], After W.T. Waggoner, a widower, and his young son, William Thomas, settled on Catlett Creek, near present-day Decatur. 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. Recently, new ownership has brought substantial investment in both equipment and design. 2021 Chas S Middleton and Son. Waggoner Estate office building in downtown Vernon, and most importantly, the exclusive right and use of the iconic Waggoner Ranch name, historic brand, and related rights are expected to convey within the sale. The Waggoner Ranchis a historic north Texasranch located 13 miles south of Vernon, Texas. Moore astonished Bucky by trying to buy his stock in the estate. Copyright 2023 Waggoner Ranch Store - All Rights Reserved. Tim Leon - President, Chief Strategy Officer - LinkedIn 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. [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. Wharton, a Philadelphia blue blood she met while traveling in the Himalayas. The ranchs famous reverse triple-D brand, for example, supposedly got that way when a blacksmith inadvertently read W.T.s hand-drawn design upside down. Most sets of pens are capable of handling several thousand head of cattle at one time. The facility is equipped to do embryo transfers and has both indoor and outdoor arenas, two barns, and over 30 stalls. I cant sit down, never could, he tells me. Even the water in Beaver Creek was reda sign, Bucky said, that it was fresh and contained no gypsum. At midnight, March 31, 2003, the clock ran out on the W. T. Waggoner trust. Buster too had multiple spouses (four, to be exact), but his only heir was A. The rich and spoiled siblings nearly squandered the family fortune on wild parties, all-night poker games, trips around the world, and divorce settlements. In 1879, the Waggoners foiled rustlers by changing their brand from the D-71 to the now-legendary three reverse Ds. In over 165 years of the Waggoner family ownership, commercial hunting has never been allowed on this expansive ranch. discovered oil while trying to drill for water, Hughes tells me. 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. They gathered information on the value of individual pastures, with the help of foreman Jimmy Lee Smith. The Bronc-busting, Cow-punching, Death-defying Legend of Boots ONeal, At Texas Swingers Clubs, the Lifestyle Is Booming. At an early age, Dan started building what would become a ranching empire and founded the Waggoner Ranch in 1849. The Waggoner Ranch Store is located in the Waggoner Estate building in Vernon Texas. 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. I ask him what he thinks of the family feud that threatens to end the way of life that he knew. The ranch's wild steers, huge supply of . 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. Seymour, the county seat of Baylor County, is several miles south of the ranch, and has a runway that is 4,300 feet long. 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. As land was cleared for settlement, he gradually moved west and by the late 1870s settled along Beaver Creek near Electra Texas. Bucky looks more like a Little League coach than a cattle baron. has created a haven for deer, turkey, quail, dove, waterfowl and feral hogs. 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. 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. Waggoner first settled his wife and son, William Thomas (Tom) Waggoner,qv in a home on Catlett Creek near the site of present Decatur. Thats where Electra Waggoner Biggs lived and where she kept her studio, Hughes tells me. There are none to be seen, because there is not a drop of groundwater. Thats the only reason anyone would want to sell.. Even when he was a young lad of 14, W.T. As their cattle business grew, the ranch needed more grazing land, especially as barbed wire began to close in the open range. Hawley is the ranch manager, and Im sitting in the passenger seat of his pickup, holding my third cup of coffee. The assets of the estate have been estimated at $200 to $300 million, but it would surely fetch far less if liquidated. He went on and on about how heartbroken he was and how much he missed them, but he didnt write them. When Helens father died, in 1975, they moved to the ranch, where Gene gradually assumed the position of head of the family. [10], By 1909, W.T. Today, the W. T. Waggoner Ranch is managed by Sam Connolly of Bozeman. In 1923, W. T. formed what is known today as the W. T. Waggoner Estate. [8] Although it still spans six counties, it is primarily centered on Wichita County and Wilbarger County. A drought in the last part of the nineteenth century made the land where the Waggoner Ranch now sits nearly useless for growing crops. Today, it is estimated there are over 1,000 producing oil wells on the Waggoner Ranch, with the W.T. What does it take to be a good cowboy? I ask. The Biggest Ranches - Texas Monthly Vernon Regional Airport has a 5,100 foot long runway. The 1905 hunt was a classic Waggoner production. King Ranch. The entryway is glass, and there is a skylight over the vaulted ceiling above the staircase. [11], The ranch has been surveyed by the United States Department of Agriculture for matters of preservation. She hosted parties of celebrities, movie stars, and barons of capitalism, including the daughter of J. P. Morgan. W. T. Waggoner Ranch is located 13 miles south of Vernon, Texas with office headquarters in Vernon. The gifts were not entirely altruistic. 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). Bickering and backstabbing have been a way of life in the family. In later years, W.T. The Waggoner Ranch was established in 1849 by Dan Waggoner. Waggoner biographer Roze McCoy Porter writes that Electra spent $90,000 remodeling the one-year-old mansion and another $55,000 on draperies. The answer lies in the rich and rowdy heritage of the Waggoner clan. Today the ranch consists of approximately 535,000 acres, and is recognized as the largest ranch in Texas under one fence. It may be hard to truly comprehend the sheer vastness of the Waggoner Ranch. 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. [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. Ranch Manager. Richard King and Captain James Walworth's King Ranch brand was registered June 27, 1859 3. In 1869 Dan made seventeen-year-old W.T. Consequently, climate data can vary over such a large area of the state. The Waggoner Ranch, 550,000 acres extending into six counties, a realm steeped in Texas history, teeters on the brink of liquidation. John and Electra had two daughtersa third Electra and Helen. He began buying land in western Wise County in 1870. a full partner, gave him $12, a group of drovers, and fifty hard-used saddle horses, and sent him to Abilene, Kansas, with a herd of five thousand steers. Our ranching operation includes, cattle, horses and the farm. He was the first quarter horse ever to be insured for $100,000. Meanwhile, W.T.s widow, Ella, ran the ranch as dowager empress until her death, in 1959. Waggoner Ranch, the 800-square-mile plot of land in North Texas, is really big. Leave them blank to get signed up. 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. The greatest annual precipitation occurs to the east, in Archer and Wichita Counties, at just over 29 inches per year annually. Its been vacant ever since. [13] He once played there with polo champion Cecil Smith. The cost of buying out Guys third of the estate had put a crimp in the flow of dividends, and Buster was running short of money. Cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch - Photography Book by Jeremy Enlow The current inventory of studs, mares, geldings and colts is approximately 474 head. 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. At every opportunity, Dan Waggoner purchased land. [5], The ranch is located west of Wichita Falls, Texas, south of Vernon, near the Red River. That became the seed money for the Waggoner empire. 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. Bucky wanted the ranch to be divided, not liquidated. [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. Land Broker and Land Appraisalfirm established in 1920. Back in town, I am introduced to 79-year-old G. L. Proctor, the old cowboy who Weldon Hawley has modeled himself after. 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. By 1881, his ranch had reached its modern dimensions: half a million acres sprawling over six counties the largest ranch in Texas under a single fence. The settlers, most of them German or Czech, moved north of Paradise Creek, which runs just beyond the present northern boundary of the ranch. In the late eighties, as the oil revenue began to peter out, the new trustee of the Waggoner estate, Charles Prather, resigned. 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. S. Middleton & Son in Lubbock are honored to announce the exclusive offering of the historic W.T. I got two dollars a match. Cecil Smith, the world-famous ten-goal player, rode with Busters Waggoner Ranch team. Lonny Morrison [Genes attorney] said he knew an expert who could advise on that matter. Things were working smoothly at that moment, but neither side believed the harmony would last. Though its a nicer house, the Willinghams have never moved up there. Mesquite is the major invader in this part of Texas. An additional 320 acres were then purchased in 1856 near the small town of Decatur, marking the first major expansion of Waggoner's estate. Inside the Decades-long Effort to Commemorate a Notorious Waco Lynching. One of the most interesting properties at Zacaweista is the gothic stone barn where Buster Wharton bred his polo ponies. . 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. Many thousands of additional acres of native pasture are suitable for cultivation, if desired. To Buckys surprise, the Biggs family responded by filing suit, asking the court to liquidate the estate. Please create an account or shop as a guest. Two of the camp divisions, the Zacaweista and the Santa Rosa, are very highly improved. Now look at it! These cows are bred to Hereford, Angus, and Charolais bulls. ACRES 825,000. In early 1963 Buster filed a lawsuit, seeking a dispensation to sell shares, but he died before the matter was litigated. Slaughter (Slaughter Ranches), Jim Loving (JA Ranch) and Dan and W.T. The ranch was established in 1849 and spans six Texas counties and almost 800 square miles. This rare phenomenon. After dinner by the creek, Dan suggested that they all ride into Frederick, Oklahoma, personally setting the pace. Or you draw a line and Ill take first pick.. The three smaller, 85,000-acre parcelsZacaweista, Four Corners, and Santa Rosawere gifts to his three children, Electra, Guy, and E. Paul. You have no voice here and you never will..

Phil Robertson Preaching Schedule, Seresto Commercial Actress, Mirfield Reporter Obituaries, Was Danny Gaither Married, Articles W