27 of 56 28 of 56 Cowboys on the Waggoner Ranch brand calves in the spring of 1983. Dan Waggoner, who was born in Tennessee in 1828, moved to Texas with his family in the mid-1840s. Waggoner biographer Roze McCoy Porter writes that Electra spent $90,000 remodeling the one-year-old mansion and another $55,000 on draperies. We would love to have our customers come by and see us and see our newly remodeled store. The property is divided into approximately 16 camp or division units. Bickering and backstabbing have been a way of life in the family. cattle inventory, horse inventory, horse facilities, brands . The Willingham house is a low, ranch-style brick structure, set behind a wall of trees. Waggoner had built a great ranch, but in 1909 he was 57 years old and thinking about its future. "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. Waggoner Ranch is now officially, for the first time ever in its history, offered for sale on the international marketplace. Gene has told people that the ranch would sell in no time, the whole 520,000 acres. | Neither of her parents came to the wedding; biographer Porter reports that E. Paul and Helen were having marital problems. declared a misdeal and had them draw again. We have unique items that feature our brand. The dispute seemed to highlight Bucky and Genes contrasting attitudesone loved the land, the other loved the money. Buster never liked cows; the only thing about the ranch he cared about was horses, especially his polo ponies. 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. Electra married A.B. Currently, Waggoner Ranch offspring are excelling in multiple competitive associations, including AQHA, Stock Horse of Texas, NRHA, NRCHA and NCHA. Many thousands of additional acres of native pasture are suitable for cultivation, if desired. After her husband died, Electra II did not keep up the pressure on Bucky, as John Biggs and Killen Moore had done. 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. 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.. Both families are already fabulously wealthy, though the wealth is in the land rather than their pockets. But for how much longer? 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. At Christmas, they exchange giftsby messenger. In later years, W.T. The Bronc-busting, Cow-punching, Death-defying Legend of Boots ONeal, At Texas Swingers Clubs, the Lifestyle Is Booming. Killen told Bucky, Take this, go back to New Mexico, and live your life. Who was going to be responsible for it? 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. 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. Since his retirement, in 1991, Proctor has lived in Vernon, raising a few cows and tending his yard. These are the men who made the ranch work while the Waggoners were off in Fort Worth or New York or Europe. This is your chance to purchase the W.T. This sprawling property is approximately three-fourths the size of Rhode Island. The Waggoner Ranch got into oil in a big way, and today oil wells still methodically pump as cattle graze around them.. The summer after his discharge, in 1970, Bucky decided it was time to move to the ranch and begin his real education. 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. Add to cart. Its been vacant ever since. This was probably a bluff. Stretching across six North Texas counties, the Waggoner Ranch is considered to be extremely well located. In the lower draws and creek bottoms, hackberry and soapberry trees are common. The land was used primarily to raise crops, beef cattle and horses as well as for oil production. I cant sit down, never could, he tells me. She hosted parties of celebrities, movie stars, and barons of capitalism, including the daughter of J. P. Morgan. 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. It may be many years before a similar ranch of this magnitude becomes available, if ever. It would be Helens husband, Gene Willingham, who would one day become Bucky Whartons main opponent in the struggle over the Waggoner Ranch. The other half belonged to Electra Waggoner Biggs, through various trusts. In the Roaring Twenties, Electra Waggoner was the most infamous socialite in Texas. 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. [9] One of the lakes on the ranch provides water for the City of Wichita Falls. Daniel Vaughn is the countrys first barbecue editor, and he has eaten more barbecue than you have. Hunting big game in Africa and hosting extravagant parties at the ranch occupied most of Busters time. Historically, the Waggoner Ranch has been operated as a cow/calf ranching unit, with stocker cattle used for seasonal grazing on wheat fields. 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. By the turn of the century, settlers were overrunning Indian reservations, and the open range was all but gone. As previously noted, this massive holding spans six North Texas counties. 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. 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. Beaver Creek feeds Santa Rosa Lake, and the Wichita River feeds Lake Kemp and Lake Diversion. 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. This iconic ranch property has been owned and operated by Waggoner heirs for approximately 165 years. Can College Sports Get More Absurd Than SMU Joining the Pac-12? This was a time when much of Texas was open range and unexplored. The house eventually fell apart and was torn down. Some whitetail deer on the Waggoner Ranch are estimated to be of Boone and Crockett quality. That became the seed money for the Waggoner empire. This will still be ranchland, for thats all its fit to be, but not ranching on the grand scale that allows men to be cowboys. W T Waggoner Ranch Brand Honoring Waggoner Ranch Family and Owners Canvas Print by Richard W Linford. As it turned out, he didnt. Most sets of pens are capable of handling several thousand head of cattle at one time. Reply Anonymous February 3, 2013 at 8:00 PM Many carry the bloodline of Poco Bueno. 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. Some say these deer may have never heard a rifle shot. The ranch is fenced and crossfenced, with an estimated several thousand miles of ranch roads and ranch fencing. These live creeks and their tributaries provide a desirable source of livestock water throughout the property. My dockets not that crowded, he said. Waggoner divided the Waggoner Ranch into four subsections: one for himself (White Face); and three smaller 8,500 acre sub-ranches for his children: Zacaweista, Four Corners, and Santa Ros. Horses have always been big business at the Waggoner Ranch. 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. They ride the trails of their forebearers, living a life and practicing skills that have almost disappeared. But Wait, There's More A smattering of the more than 4,000 items listed on the. His daddy worked this ranch for fifteen years, and Shane grew up on Cowboy Row. To Buckys surprise, the Biggs family responded by filing suit, asking the court to liquidate the estate. Sign up to receive timely, useful information in your inbox. 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. Joe Roberson showed me how to read the books. 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. No Waggoner is buried on the ranch, only this one cowboy and a few early settlers in unmarked graves. Oil was a nuisance, and any good cattleman knew the value of water. And so they were, for a hundred years and more. The Waggoner Ranchis a historic north Texasranch located 13 miles south of Vernon, Texas. Three pivot sprinkler systems are used to distribute irrigation water to three large fields on the ranch. 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. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. When full, Lake Kemp covers an area of over 16,540 surface acres and Lake Diversion covers approximately 3,420 surface acres. [10], By 1909, W.T. A portion of this acreage is seeded to very productive Coastal Bermuda. As the large ranches of Texas, such as the Waggoner, 6666, JA, Slaughter, King Ranch and others, were established, fenced and began to operate, these legendary holdings were, at times, confronted with the problems of Indian raids and cattle rustlers. 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. W.T. Thistle Hill, as Electras mansion was called, stands to this day on the crest of Summit Avenue, near downtown. All framed prints are professionally printed, framed, assembled, and shipped within 3 - 4 business days and delivered ready-to-hang on your wall. Consequently, climate data can vary over such a large area of the state. From the highway, its pastures seem timeless and impregnable. On the map of Texas it appears as a great emptiness south of Vernon, occupied only by the thin strip of U.S. 183/283. Choose from multiple print sizes and hundreds of frame and mat options. 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. I tried college in Vernon for a little while, but it wasnt for me. They gathered information on the value of individual pastures, with the help of foreman Jimmy Lee Smith. I worked a couple of weeks gauging wells. But we are so far from the lights of townany townthat half an hour before daylight its still pitch black. 20% off all products! Worth Metroplex area. They buried him standing up, Hughes informs me. Mrs. Biggs called ahead and had the director meet us on the front step. They say he was as mad as a nest of hornets. 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 borrowed a large sum from his nonagenarian grandmother, Ella, who later transferred the note to E. Paul. At least thats what everyone outside the two families, their lawyers, and the judge believe happened. They wintered the herd that year in Clay County and the following spring drove it to market, netting a profit of $55,000.