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The main set of shipping pens are located along the highway at the Zacaweista Headquarters Division. On each of those transactions, Kroenke had relied on Leadbetter's counsel and the insights of Sam Connolly, general manager of Kroenke Ranches. Hawley has a cell phone handy, and the ranch radio under the dash crackles with voices from isolated posts miles away. (and future trustees) would have the sole right to make all management decisions. 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. By all rights the Waggoner Ranch ought to be the equal of the King Ranch in Texas lore. Now 56, Bucky is one of the protagonists in the battle over the future of the ranch. They seldom speak and hardly ever socialize. 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. S. Middleton & Son in Lubbock are honored to announce the exclusive offering of the historic W.T. 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. | 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. The 1905 hunt was a classic Waggoner production. They ride the trails of their forebearers, living a life and practicing skills that have almost disappeared. 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. Thats the case that has been snaking through Judge Tom Neelys Forty-sixth District Court, in Wilbarger County, for these past twelve years. 510,527.00 Electra married A.B. They were super, super people. Nevertheless, Smith resigned in 1997, tired of being caught in the middle of the power struggle. Bickering and backstabbing have been a way of life in the family. 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. The 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. He kept the east side of the ranch, called White Face, for himself. Skyfood Supermarket (six locations in New York) - Asian Oriental Supermarket. Though there are more than two thousand miles of road inside the ranch, there are hardly any road signs or navigational landmarks. Numerous smaller cultivated fields are scattered throughout the ranch. These lakes were built by the Corps of Engineers as a major source of municipal and irrigation use water for Wichita Falls, area towns and nearby farming communities. King Ranch. Dan and W.T. [6] It is the second largest ranch in Texas (after the King Ranch),[6] enclosing 510,527 acres (207,000ha; 798sqmi; 2,070km2) of land. I cant sit down, never could, he tells me. One story has it that a gunslinger named Jimmie Roberts, originally hired to deal with rustlers, was sent out to make farmers an offer they couldnt refuse. The last e-mail I got from him, he testified, [was] five years ago.. Another number brand is placed on the left hip to denote the year. 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. The Waggoner Ranch was established in 1849 by Dan Waggoner. An additional 320 acres were then purchased in 1856 near the small town of Decatur, marking the first major expansion of Waggoner's estate. Its a weird deal. 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. [6][11] E. Paul Waggoner raised Quarter Horses on the ranch. Some people think that the last chance for a settlement died with Electra II. As the frontier pushed westward, he expanded his herd and bought more land, in Clay and Wichita counties. The other half belonged to Electra Waggoner Biggs, through various trusts. Oil production soon followed. [4] It was acquired by Stan Kroenke, who is married to Ann Walton (niece of Sam Walton), in February 2016. 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. W.T. When my wife got sick with cancer, Gene and Buck got the company plane to fly her to M. D. Anderson. Vernon Regional Airport has a 5,100 foot long runway. When it is necessary for them to be in the same room, they let third parties do the talking. Most sets of pens are capable of handling several thousand head of cattle at one time. Hughes grew up in Vernon and has been hunting and fishing on the ranch since high school. At one dinner party, two Texans pulled six-guns from their dinner jackets and shot up the ceiling. Look out there! 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. B. 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. As Parker biographer Bill Neeley has noted, ethics and morality played no part of this business arrangement. [6] Electra Waggoner mostly resided at Thistle Hill in Fort Worth, although her husband, Albert Buck Wharton, operated a livery yard and horse stables on the ranch. She finally pulled up in front of the Vernon drugstore, pieces of gate and fence hanging off the car, Bucky tells me. Heath Ownbey. But the difference is that the cattle barons of the King Ranch led private, almost secretive lives, running their empire themselves and living on the land, while the Waggoners turned their ranch over to professionals, moved away, and pursued flamboyance. In the late eighties, as the oil revenue began to peter out, the new trustee of the Waggoner estate, Charles Prather, resigned. After her husband died, Electra II did not keep up the pressure on Bucky, as John Biggs and Killen Moore had done. Bucky Wharton didnt think of the ranch as his heritage until he was in high school at Culver Military Academy, in Indiana. Waggoner left behind in East Texas the grave of his wife. [10], By 1909, W.T. Historically, the Waggoner Ranch has been operated as a cow/calf ranching unit, with stocker cattle used for seasonal grazing on wheat fields. declared a misdeal and had them draw again. $ 58.00. They buried him standing up, Hughes informs me. 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). E. Paul was a dapper, dashing Hollywood-style cowboy, with a mustache and mischievous eyes. But W.T. Since his retirement, in 1991, Proctor has lived in Vernon, raising a few cows and tending his yard. In 1923, W. T. formed what is known today as the W. T. Waggoner Estate. The ranch was established in 1849 and spans six Texas counties and almost 800 square miles. In one last attempt to keep the range open, W.T. 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. Because of Toms great influence on the horse industry, he became a founding member of the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA). It may be hard to truly comprehend the sheer vastness of the Waggoner Ranch. Members of American Quarter Horse Association, Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, National Beef Council, Texas Alliance of Energy Producers, and the Texas Land and Mineral Owners Association. The cowboys sided with Bucky, who felt that hunters left litter, cut fences, and left gates open. Or so people say.. 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. Can College Sports Get More Absurd Than SMU Joining the Pac-12? Shortly after leaving, he got his draft notice, at the height of the Vietnam War. Neither the Willinghams nor the Whartons have the funds to buy the other out. A portion of this acreage is seeded to very productive Coastal Bermuda. Its the Story of Shankleville, One of the States Early Freedom Colonies. asked his children to draw cards for the three parcels. Today, the W. T. Waggoner Ranch is managed by Sam Connolly of Bozeman. We see a bunch of javelinas too, and a bobcat as big as a mountain lion. Ill draw a line and you take first pick, he offered. [9] One of the lakes on the ranch provides water for the City of Wichita Falls. In over 165 years of the Waggoner family ownership, commercial hunting has never been allowed on this expansive ranch. By the 1880s, the Waggoners Victorian mansion, El Castile, was the most prominent structure in Decatur. 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. Two of the camp divisions, the Zacaweista and the Santa Rosa, are very highly improved. In 1877, Burk Burnett (6666 Ranch), Col. C.C. 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 land was used primarily to raise crops, beef cattle and horses as well as for oil production. The Waggoner Ranchis a historic north Texasranch located 13 miles south of Vernon, Texas. Some people believe that she would never have permitted the sale of the Waggoner Ranch. This iconic ranch property has been owned and operated by Waggoner heirs for approximately 165 years. Consequently, climate data can vary over such a large area of the state. This is a diverse operation consisting of cattle, horses, farming, oil, recreational lakes and wildlife. Some of the wells discovered in the 1920s are still in operation. W T Waggoner Ranch Brand Honoring Waggoner Ranch Family and Owners Canvas Print by Richard W Linford. The Waggoner Ranch is a historic north Texas ranch located 13 miles south of Vernon, Texas. The house eventually fell apart and was torn down. What does it take to be a good cowboy? I ask. He pointed to an impenetrable thicket of mesquite and told me, Thirty years ago we cleared that pasture, all the way to Beaver Creek. 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 first settled his wife and son, William Thomas (Tom) Waggoner,qv in a home on Catlett Creek near the site of present Decatur. Three pivot sprinkler systems are used to distribute irrigation water to three large fields on the ranch. They include a bunkhouse for single cowboys, more homes for the foreman and senior cowboys, a cookhouse, several maintenance sheds, and a truck barn. A granite tombstone, set in the center of a small, neatly trimmed pasture, marks the grave of the greatest cutting horse of all time. 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. After a big wedding in Decatur, the couple honeymooned in Europe and then planned to settle in Philadelphia. They married in 1969. In 1965 he replaced Tony Hazelwood as foreman. Things were working smoothly at that moment, but neither side believed the harmony would last. . Yet the Waggoner Ranch has outlasted its South Texas rival in one respect: It is still under the direct control of its founding family. Without question, this legacy ranch represents a once-in-a-lifetime chance for an investor with vision and love of the land the rare opportunity to take this legendary offering to the next level. This was a time when much of Texas was open range and unexplored. W.T. Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pats Pick, for Texas Monthly. 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. Waggoner Ranch cattle have been 60 percent Hereford and 40 percent Angus/Hereford and Brangus/Hereford. As previously noted, this massive holding spans six North Texas counties. With the trust on the verge of expiring, Bucky and Electra II agreed to extend it until March 31, 2003. The King Ranch, based in south Texas, has more acreage spread over several parcels. Sign up to receive timely, useful information in your inbox. Waggoner Ranch, the 800-square-mile plot of land in North Texas, is really big. hoped that his kids would learn to ranch and develop a sense of responsibility. Oil was a nuisance, and any good cattleman knew the value of water. 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. Vernon, the county seat of Wilbarger County, is located approximately 12 miles due north of the ranch. They are already being augmented by Kroenke Ranches' world-class commercial Angus herd. One of the most interesting properties at Zacaweista is the gothic stone barn where Buster Wharton bred his polo ponies. But Buckys mother was not about to give up her sons inheritance without a fight. 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. The other wants to sell the ranch and divide the assets. W.T. A municipal waterline from nearby Seymour serves some of the homes located at Lake Kemp. 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. 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. Buckys pride in this place was unmistakable. 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. 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. There are several other large ponds, as well as hundreds of livestock ponds scattered throughout the property. This is the job I set my sights on, he says. According to a 2005 article in The Western Horseman Magazine, But another event in 1902 had a lasting impact on the Waggoner Ranch. 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. After Guy died, E. Paul and Buster faced the issue of what would become of his shares in the Waggoner estate. Both ranches once covered more than a million acres. When full, Lake Kemp covers an area of over 16,540 surface acres and Lake Diversion covers approximately 3,420 surface acres. By the late fifties, forces were marshalling to ensure total control for E. Paul and his heirs. The party bagged seventeen wolves (some of which were really coyotes), and the president beat a five-foot rattlesnake to death with his quirt. 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. Dan sent Tom (his son), who was only 16 years old at the time, to Kansas City with a herd of 5,000 steers. 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. Quanah saw his alliance with the Waggoners and other cattle barons as a way to better the lives of his peopleand his own to boot. As a consequence, the King Ranch scions moved comfortably in elite Texas social, political, and business circles, while the Waggoners never achieved the same degree of prominence. In early 1963 Buster filed a lawsuit, seeking a dispensation to sell shares, but he died before the matter was litigated. I think there were twenty-five or twenty-seven attorneys involved, he recalled. [14] After Electra Waggoner Biggs's death, her share was inherited by Electra Waggoner Biggs's daughter Helen Biggs and her husband, Gene Willingham. Her best-known work is the statue of Will Rogers on horseback at the entrance to the Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum, in Fort Worth. 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. What the hell could he do with oil! Joe Roberson showed me how to read the books. Poco Bueno died in 1969 and was buried in a standing position in front of the main ranch entrance. The land was used primarily to raise crops, beef cattleand horsesas well as for oil production. Waggoner found oil while drilling for water. [7] Parts of it can be seen from highways U.S. 183 Very few test wells havepenetrated the remaining 400,000 acres. 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. 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. 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. [8], After the death of Daniel Waggoner in 1902, his son W.T. The Running W is the brand for the King Ranch located in south Texas close to Kingsville, Tx. A drought in the last part of the nineteenth century made the land where the Waggoner Ranch now sits nearly useless for growing crops. [6] Meanwhile, Electra Waggoner Biggs became a renowned sculptor. Hawley is the ranch manager, and Im sitting in the passenger seat of his pickup, holding my third cup of coffee. At an early age, Dan started building what would become a ranching empire and founded the Waggoner Ranch in 1849. Its absence symbolizes the fate of the Guy Waggoner clan in the history of the ranch. They have been up since three and have had a hefty cookhouse breakfast of eggs, sausage, bacon, potatoes, biscuits, and gravy. Even when he was a young lad of 14, W.T. 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. G. The ranch's wild steers, huge supply of . The Waggoner is one of the 20 largest cattle ranches in the U.S. and is known worldwide for its quarter horses. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. He went on and on about how heartbroken he was and how much he missed them, but he didnt write them. 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. Waggoner Estate Ranch and related assets are now, for the first time ever, being offered for sale at a guideline listed price of. 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). The property is divided into approximately 16 camp or division units. 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. Buster too had multiple spouses (four, to be exact), but his only heir was A. Approximately 41.67% of the mineral rights with a pro-rata portion of the executive leasing rights are expected to convey with the sale. Waggoner had built a great ranch, but in 1909 he was 57 years old and thinking about its future. When they presented the map to Gene, they say, he asked for more details. Dan Waggoner passed away in 1903, and his son, W. T. (Tom) Waggoner continued to expand his ranching interests. [3] It spans six counties[3][6] and is half as large as Rhode Island. They gathered information on the value of individual pastures, with the help of foreman Jimmy Lee Smith. Cowboying isnt a profession, its a life, but if the Waggoner Ranch is broken up into pieces, that life will exist no more. 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. Nearby Vernon, which serves as the famed headquarters for the ranch operations office complex, receives an average of 28 inches per year. Heath@WaggonerRanch.com Then, in 1997, Bucky and Roberson drew another map, this time setting aside the two homesteads, and again offered Gene first choice. Genes got to drive within fifty feet of Buckys house every morning and again every evening to get to his own place. 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. Richard King and Captain James Walworth's King Ranch brand was registered June 27, 1859 3. The many improvements and related assets mentioned above combine to offer the purchaser an extremely attractive depreciation schedule. Other areas show substantial regrowth, and those areas of the ranch with a dense canopy of mesquite offer exceptional protection for wildlife. The Waggoner Ranch Store is located in the Waggoner Estate building in Vernon Texas. Now he lives in the bunkhouse. Many carry the bloodline of Poco Bueno. Weve root-plowed, sprayed, pulled it up with a tractor, dug it up with a backhoe. I worked for six months with various people in the oil and the ranching divisions, he told me. Ranches, Farms and Land forsale in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado and Kansas. The history of the land and the Waggoner family is so entwined with myth and legend that nobody can untangle the truth. No one, it seems, wants to witness the breakup of a mythic Texas ranchexcept the Waggoner heirs. 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! Choose from multiple print sizes and hundreds of frame and mat options. In later years, W.T. That became the seed money for the Waggoner empire. (Tom) Waggoner had a good eye for quality horse flesh and developed a herd of broodmares to produce working ranch geldings for his cowboys. 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.