Today, it is estimated there are over 1,000 producing oil wells on the Waggoner Ranch, with the W.T. Waggoner Ranch cowboys like and respect both families and consider them fair and generous. I worked for six months with various people in the oil and the ranching divisions, he told me. Didnt any of them have to work or suffer to get it. This huge block of farmland is crossfenced into large manageable fields which are suitable for grazing thousands of head of wheat pasture cattle. Ranching operations began with 230 head of longhorn cattle and some horses. Heath Ownbey. The other wants to sell the ranch and divide the assets. Some people believe that she would never have permitted the sale of the Waggoner Ranch. Because of Toms great influence on the horse industry, he became a founding member of the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA). Choose from multiple print sizes, border colors, and canvas materials. We met in the boardroom at the Waggoner building, Roberson told me. Why do they fight on? [14] After Electra Waggoner Biggs's death, her share was inherited by Electra Waggoner Biggs's daughter Helen Biggs and her husband, Gene Willingham. 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. the estate. Judge Neely accepted this language. Subscribe Contact Us We love our customers, so feel free to visit during normal business hours. In later years, W.T. In The American Quarter Horse Journal, Jim Jennings writes, The Waggoner contribution to the Quarter Horse industry has long been recognized. 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. The other half belonged to Electra Waggoner Biggs, through various trusts. W. T. Waggoner Ranch is currently developing hunting opportunities for quail, wild hog and deer. 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. W.T. The Waggoner Ranch Store is located in the Waggoner Estate building in Vernon Texas. On each of those transactions, Kroenke had relied on Leadbetter's counsel and the insights of Sam Connolly, general manager of Kroenke Ranches. Sign up to receive timely, useful information in your inbox. PRIMARY USE cow-calf, feed yard, farming, horses, oil and gas, wild game hunting, birding . 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. 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. In 1965 he replaced Tony Hazelwood as foreman. Recently, new ownership has brought substantial investment in both equipment and design. Ill draw a line and you take first pick, he offered. Now 56, Bucky is one of the protagonists in the battle over the future of the ranch. 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. 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. 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. No one, it seems, wants to witness the breakup of a mythic Texas ranchexcept the Waggoner heirs. The main headquarters at the Waggoner Ranch has municipal-quality water from Vernon. and 283. We would love to have our customers come by and see us and see our newly remodeled store. Hawley is the ranch manager, and Im sitting in the passenger seat of his pickup, holding my third cup of coffee. Neither of her parents came to the wedding; biographer Porter reports that E. Paul and Helen were having marital problems. These live creeks and their tributaries provide a desirable source of livestock water throughout the property. 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. 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. [8] The ranch spanned more than a million acres of land. 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. The Reversed 3Ds is still used as a symbol representing the historic Waggoner Ranch. He was the first quarter horse ever to be insured for $100,000. Thistle Hill, as Electras mansion was called, stands to this day on the crest of Summit Avenue, near downtown. Consequently, climate data can vary over such a large area of the state. Even when he was a young lad of 14, W.T. [6] However, in 1923, he changed his mind, and set up a Massachusetts trust. That became the seed money for the Waggoner empire. $720,000,000 was determined to keep Electra nearby. It's one of the largest ranches in the world with 825,00 acres. 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. 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. We farm approximately 25,000 that we use to graze cattle and raise crops for sale and internal use. Both were famous for breeding, the King Ranch for Santa Gertrudis cattle, the Waggoner Ranch for cutting horses. We love our customers, so feel free to visit during normal business hours. Perhaps they are afraid of ghosts. The Wichita River, the two branches of Beaver Creek, countless small streams and tributaries, and dozens of stock tanks supply the ranchs water. Many thousands of additional acres of native pasture are suitable for cultivation, if desired. Neither the Willinghams nor the Whartons have the funds to buy the other out. Wichita Falls, the county seat of Wichita County, is approximately 20 miles east of the eastern boundary of the ranch. Stretching across six North Texas counties, the Waggoner Ranch is considered to be extremely well located. Now the fate of the ranch was up to the court. This treated water is used for human consumption to serve the substantial headquarter improvements. This is your chance to purchase the W.T. 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. In 1923, W. T. formed what is known today as the W. T. Waggoner Estate. Millionaire ranchers from Argentina and the elite of East Coast society came in their private planes for weekends of polo and debauchery. 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. Heath@WaggonerRanch.com Whats Up With All the Kangaroos on the Loose in Texas? 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. ACRES 825,000. The Waggoner is one of the 20 largest cattle ranches in the U.S. and is known worldwide for its quarter horses. Buster never liked cows; the only thing about the ranch he cared about was horses, especially his polo ponies. The land was used primarily to raise crops, beef cattle and horses as well as for oil production. King Ranch. Disgusted, he continued drilling for water. divided the ranch that he and his dad had founded into four large tracts. When my wife got sick with cancer, Gene and Buck got the company plane to fly her to M. D. Anderson. 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. 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. 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. When it is necessary for them to be in the same room, they let third parties do the talking. 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. But there has been no substantial rain for days now, and we kick up a trail of dark red dust as we head toward Santa Rosa, the area that E. Paul inherited and where his daughter, the second Electra, grew up. 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). The ranch is fenced and crossfenced, with an estimated several thousand miles of ranch roads and ranch fencing. His daddy worked this ranch for fifteen years, and Shane grew up on Cowboy Row. Behind his back, other employees referred to Moore as Rasputin. discovered oil while trying to drill for water, Hughes tells me. Dan Waggoner, who was born in Tennessee in 1828, moved to Texas with his family in the mid-1840s. Bucky wanted to make it clear that he believed the situation was untenable. Can College Sports Get More Absurd Than SMU Joining the Pac-12? The Waggoner Ranch, 550,000 acres extending into six counties, a realm steeped in Texas history, teeters on the brink of liquidation. 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. As previously noted, this massive holding spans six North Texas counties. They are already being augmented by Kroenke Ranches' world-class commercial Angus herd. We have unique items that feature our brand. What the hell could he do with oil! The Waggoner Ranch was ordered liquidated. Under the terms of the trust, each of the children owned one third of the 100,000 shares in the estate, elected the board of directors of the trust and served on the board themselves, and retained their homesteads. Hunting big game in Africa and hosting extravagant parties at the ranch occupied most of Busters time. Salt cedar is found along creek and river courses, and cedar is moderate to dense in the rougher, eroded areas of the ranch. The Waggoner Ranch was founded by a man named Dan Waggoner around 1854 when he and his son relocated to a 160-acre farm in Wise County, TX, after the untimely passing of Dan's wife Nancy in 1853. Its second only to the King Ranch in size, and second to none in its history of drink, divorce, and dissension. At Christmas, they exchange giftsby messenger. reclaimed all land and assets in 1923 and placed them in a so-called Massachusetts trust, a draconian arrangement in which he, as the trustee, controlled everything, including one of the biggest shallow oil fields in the world. 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. One of the most interesting properties at Zacaweista is the gothic stone barn where Buster Wharton bred his polo ponies. Numerous food plots are located adjacent to these protected creek bottom areas, and these food plots serve as a magnet for wildlife. [6] Meanwhile, Electra Waggoner Biggs became a renowned sculptor. 1700 Deaf Smith St., Vernon, TX 76384, US. Texas Almanac Rainfall Records show the lowest annual rainfall for this six county area is in Foard and Knox Counties, at 24 inches and 26 inches per year, respectively. He began buying land in western Wise County in 1870. Beaver Creek feeds Santa Rosa Lake, and the Wichita River feeds Lake Kemp and Lake Diversion. I was there. Marketing is done through private treaty and production sales. 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. This land sits atop the Seymour Aquifer, while the ranch itself is bone-dry. W.T. They have been up since three and have had a hefty cookhouse breakfast of eggs, sausage, bacon, potatoes, biscuits, and gravy. W T Waggoner Ranch Brand Honoring Waggoner Ranch Family and Owners Canvas Print by Richard W Linford. W.T. Houses back then were very dark, with low ceilings and small windows. 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. The bidding period on the ranch, going for $725 million, ended Oct. 20 with about six serious potential buyers. 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. Waggoner Ranch, the 800-square-mile plot of land in North Texas, is really big. They almost killed him with kindness, literally. 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. 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. Texas Purple Hull Pea Festival Is More Than an Event. (Tom) Waggoner had a good eye for quality horse flesh and developed a herd of broodmares to produce working ranch geldings for his cowboys. They include a bunkhouse for single cowboys, more homes for the foreman and senior cowboys, a cookhouse, several maintenance sheds, and a truck barn. The family made their main homes in the city and returned to the ranch for weekend getaways and holidays. Another number brand is placed on the left hip to denote the year. Several small on-site water wells are also located in this large block of farmland. 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. Inside the Decades-long Effort to Commemorate a Notorious Waco Lynching. It comprises 520,000 acres in six counties, and is the home for 12,000 mother cows. Its pastures and wheat fields, cattle and horses, mansions. The history of the land and the Waggoner family is so entwined with myth and legend that nobody can untangle the truth. By contrast, Bucky is reserved, private, and serious about his business affairs. For years, its two feuding clans have agreed on only one thing: They want to break up their vast eight-hundred-square-mile spread and close this chapter of Texas history. 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. Waggoner acquired more land. Moore astonished Bucky by trying to buy his stock in the estate. Approximately 41.67% of the mineral rights with a pro-rata portion of the executive leasing rights are expected to convey with the sale. [6] It has about 14,000 cows and bulls as well as 500 horses. Though its a nicer house, the Willinghams have never moved up there. Busters card room, on the second floor, which was once walled in leather, now has the original wood exposed.
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