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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 land was used primarily to raise crops, beef cattle and horses as well as for oil production. These cows are bred to Hereford, Angus, and Charolais bulls. 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. These camps range in size from just over 20,000 acres to nearly 40,000 acres each. Find a huge selection of trailers from DooLittle and SureTrac in MO. $ 58.00. 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. S. Middleton & Son in Lubbock are honored to announce the exclusive offering of the historic W.T. 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. After Buckys father died, Lula [the last of Busters four wives] stripped this place. 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. He was teaching at Will Rogers Elementary School, in Houston, where Helen Biggs was also a teacher. The Bronc-busting, Cow-punching, Death-defying Legend of Boots ONeal, At Texas Swingers Clubs, the Lifestyle Is Booming. What must be going through his mind? But the Willinghams arent talkingabout the lawsuit or anything else. Didnt any of them have to work or suffer to get it. 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. [6] However, in 1923, he changed his mind, and set up a Massachusetts trust. W T Waggoner Ranch Brand Honoring Waggoner Ranch Family and Owners Framed Print by Richard W Linford. It doesnt seem real to even think about it, he says. 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. With the trust on the verge of expiring, Bucky and Electra II agreed to extend it until March 31, 2003. Neither of her parents came to the wedding; biographer Porter reports that E. Paul and Helen were having marital problems. 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. Three pivot sprinkler systems are used to distribute irrigation water to three large fields on the ranch. They seldom speak and hardly ever socialize. A complete list of this inventory can be made available. 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. [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. This was probably a bluff. We met in the boardroom at the Waggoner building, Roberson told me. How Florence ButtNot Her SonLaunched the H-E-B Empire, More Colorful Texas Sayings Than You Can Shake a Stick At. I got two dollars a match. Cecil Smith, the world-famous ten-goal player, rode with Busters Waggoner Ranch team. It was a crash course, but I learned more in those six months than Id learned my whole life. In 1975 he married Joline, a young woman he had met in Albuquerque seven years earlier. Biggss brother-in-law was the president of General Motors, and he later named a Buick model for Electra. Guy, who eventually settled on another ranch the family owned in New Mexico, married eight times. 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] Although it still spans six counties, it is primarily centered on Wichita County and Wilbarger County. Waggoner Ranch - AQHA - American Quarter Horse Association Then he left the meeting and thats the last we heard. 940-552-2521 x:270. 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. My first job was walkin hotscooling down winded horsesbetween chuckers. "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. The Waggoner has been owned by the same family almost as long as Texas been a state. The Waggoner Ranch Store is located in the Waggoner Estate building in Vernon Texas. In his entire life, he never drew a paycheck from anyone but the Waggoners. At an early age, Dan started building what would become a ranching empire and founded the Waggoner Ranch in 1849. Waggoner left behind in East Texas the grave of his wife. Now 56, Bucky is one of the protagonists in the battle over the future of the ranch. It is doubtful there is any other contiguous area of this magnitude in Texas which has had no commercial hunting pressure since the land was first settled. In 1877, Burk Burnett (6666 Ranch), Col. C.C. In a January 2003 deposition, Gene said he sent Bucky his own draft of the map but never got a reply. In over 165 years of the Waggoner family ownership, commercial hunting has never been allowed on this expansive ranch. The Biggest Ranches - Texas Monthly The ranch was established in 1849 and spans six Texas counties and almost 800 square miles. In May, Judge Neely heard the motion for partial summary judgment and made his ruling. He was a nineteen-year-old Army sergeant at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, when he learned that the lawsuits had been resolved and that he was heir to 50 percent of the W. T. Waggoner estate. As Parker biographer Bill Neeley has noted, ethics and morality played no part of this business arrangement. In one, he wished Electra happy birthday and said, I bought you a $2,500 bond.. Both ranches once covered more than a million acres. W. T. Waggoner Ranch is located 13 miles south of Vernon, Texas with office headquarters in Vernon. Dan died in 1903, leaving everything to Tom. Some whitetail deer on the Waggoner Ranch are estimated to be of Boone and Crockett quality. The substantial structural improvements, thousands of miles of fences and roads, hundreds of earthen pond dam sites, rolling stock, waterlines, natural gas and oilfield lines, oil field equipment, the Waggoner office building, the included livestock (horses and cattle) and the entire operation are offered as a turn-key sale on an as-is, where-is basis. Lonny Morrison [Genes attorney] said he knew an expert who could advise on that matter. Waggoner Ranch - Wikipedia 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. Meanwhile, W.T.s widow, Ella, ran the ranch as dowager empress until her death, in 1959. Behind his back, other employees referred to Moore as Rasputin. She joined him in the apartment, and they set to work remodeling the Zacaweista mansion, which had sat vacant for nearly a dozen years. Can College Sports Get More Absurd Than SMU Joining the Pac-12? Consequently, climate data can vary over such a large area of the state. has created a haven for deer, turkey, quail, dove, waterfowl and feral hogs. When they supplied them, he fumed. Even when he was a young lad of 14, W.T. W.T. Two of the camp divisions, the Zacaweista and the Santa Rosa, are very highly improved. Moore resigned as trustee in the early eighties, at a critical moment for the estate. HOUCHRON CAPTION (07/27/2003): A calf is branded on the ranch in 1983. Hunting big game in Africa and hosting extravagant parties at the ranch occupied most of Busters time. It seems inconceivable that they cant agree on a compromise. Two years after Prathers resignation, Bucky gave notice of termination of the trust in a letter to Electra IIs family. Free shipping for many products! Rani's World Foods (Texas & Nevada) - Indian supermarket chain. Why do they fight on? A drought in the last part of the nineteenth century made the land where the Waggoner Ranch now sits nearly useless for growing crops. Things were working smoothly at that moment, but neither side believed the harmony would last. Buster Wharton Jr., a polo player, playboy, and famous drunk who died of cirrhosis of the liver in 1963. 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. Look out there! Perhaps they are afraid of ghosts. In the Roaring Twenties, Electra Waggoner was the most infamous socialite in Texas. It comprises 520,000 acres in six counties, and is the home for 12,000 mother cows. They were super, super people. Nevertheless, Smith resigned in 1997, tired of being caught in the middle of the power struggle. The gifts were not entirely altruistic. The family made their main homes in the city and returned to the ranch for weekend getaways and holidays. 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. PRIMARY USE cow-calf, feed yard, farming, horses, oil and gas, wild game hunting, birding . Busters card room, on the second floor, which was once walled in leather, now has the original wood exposed. Reply Anonymous February 3, 2013 at 8:00 PM [11] Buster raised polo ponies and established the El Ranchio Polo Club on the ranch. The two sides have never been able to agree on a replacement. Some people dont see it, but shes beautiful. The house sits on high ground, mostly hidden by oak and pecan trees and a fieldstone wall. Ill tell you one thing: Mrs. Biggs [Electra II] was the nicest person in the world to me, said Jimmy Lee Smith, who cowboyed at the ranch for 38 years, rising from cowpuncher to foreman and ranch manager. 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. Ranching operations began with 230 head of longhorn cattle and some horses. The Willingham house is a low, ranch-style brick structure, set behind a wall of trees. In The American Quarter Horse Journal, Jim Jennings writes, The Waggoner contribution to the Quarter Horse industry has long been recognized. He went on and on about how heartbroken he was and how much he missed them, but he didnt write them. B. Wharton III, known as Bucky. That became the seed money for the Waggoner empire. Cattle - W. T. Waggoner Ranch Enlow is an advertising, media and fine arts photographer based in Fort Worth. St Louis, Missouri, United States. 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). | Waggoner Estate operating approximately 150 of these wells and 40 independent operators operating the balance. The terrain varies from fairly level to gently rolling, sloping and hilly, but there are areas of rougher breaks and scenic, very eroded, red clay badland. Daniel Vaughn is the countrys first barbecue editor, and he has eaten more barbecue than you have. Since Electra IIs death, in 2001, the board has been composed of these two men who rarely speak to each other. By the 1880s, the Waggoners Victorian mansion, El Castile, was the most prominent structure in Decatur. 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. The main set of shipping pens are located along the highway at the Zacaweista Headquarters Division. The answer lies in the rich and rowdy heritage of the Waggoner clan. [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. Dan took advantage of this great opportunity. 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. Stretching across six North Texas counties, the Waggoner Ranch is considered to be extremely well located. I was there. He secretly wanted his favorite, Electra, to draw Zacaweista, because it was nearest to his homestead. 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. Cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch - Photography Book by Jeremy Enlow No way I could live in the city. He means Vernon (population: 12,000). Cowboys worry that the feud will destroy the ranch. Her best-known work is the statue of Will Rogers on horseback at the entrance to the Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum, in Fort Worth. LOCATION Brooks, Jim Wells, Kenedy, Kleberg, Nueces, and Willacy counties. Skyfood Supermarket (six locations in New York) - Asian Oriental Supermarket. We were talking in Buckys office, a large corner suite on the second floor of the long, low W. T. Waggoner Estate Building just off the main highway in Vernon. The Reversed 3Ds is still used as a symbol representing the historic Waggoner Ranch. 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. Forrest Wilder writes about politics and the outdoors. Slaughter (Slaughter Ranches), Jim Loving (JA Ranch) and Dan and W.T. 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. They still talk here of Paul Whitley, an unmarried cowboy who in 1950 rode his horse to Cedar Top, the most remote camp on the ranch, and lived alone in a primitive cabin until his final illness, in 2002. Choose from multiple print sizes, border colors, and canvas materials. 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. They buried him standing up, Hughes informs me. Brokers: Sale of Waggoner ranch looks hopeful as bidding ends - Chron Thats the only reason anyone would want to sell.. 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). Guy had a weakness for the ladies; he once skipped town with the lead actress from a traveling burlesque show. For more than a century the520,000-acre Waggoner Ranch has been an inseparable part of the culture and fabric of the Red River country west of Wichita Fallsand of Texas itself. Two large, privately-owned lakes are located on the Waggoner Ranch. Bernard Uechtritz of Briggs-Freeman Sothebys International Realty in Dallas, and Sam Middleton, of Chas. and fellow cattle baron Burk Burnett sent their pet Indian to Washington, D.C., in 1905 to ride in President Theodore Roosevelts second inaugural paradeand to invite Roosevelt to go wolf hunting on the Big Pasture. In 1965 he replaced Tony Hazelwood as foreman. Cowboys are a different breed. These are the men who made the ranch work while the Waggoners were off in Fort Worth or New York or Europe. Mammoth estate to be split up, auctioned - Chron Horses like Waggoners Rainy Day, Midnight, One Eyed Waggoner, Yellow Wolf, Yellow Jacket, Pretty Boy, Pretty Buck, Snipper W, Pep Up, Jesse James and of course Poco Bueno still appear in the pedigrees of many great horses today. When E. Paul drew Zacaweista instead, W.T. They chose the latter. Our cattle herd consists of approximately 10,000 mother cows comprised of 60 percent Hereford and 40 percent Angus/Hereford and Brangus/Hereford cross. Dan Waggoner, who was born in Tennessee in 1828, moved to Texas with his family in the mid-1840s. So what does it all mean? The Waggoner Ranch was established in 1849 by Dan Waggoner. W.T. Land Broker and Land Appraisalfirm established in 1920. 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. Sign up to receive timely, useful information in your inbox. 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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. 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. [14] After Electra Waggoner Biggs's death, her share was inherited by Electra Waggoner Biggs's daughter Helen Biggs and her husband, Gene Willingham. Its a trade that suits only a select few for whom the life satisfies rather than restricts. [6], The ranch was originally established in 1852 near Vernon, Texas, by Daniel Waggoner under the name of Dan Waggoner & Son; his son being William Thomas Waggoner, who was an infant at the time. 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. 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. Waggoner Estate Ranch. He began buying land in western Wise County in 1870. Some say these deer may have never heard a rifle shot. B. Oil production soon followed. 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. [6] Thirty cowboys, and about 120 people overall, are employed on the property. For the past 15 years, champions at both the National Reining Association and the National Cutting Horse Association Futurity have had Waggoner bloodlines in their pedigree. They include a bunkhouse for single cowboys, more homes for the foreman and senior cowboys, a cookhouse, several maintenance sheds, and a truck barn. Heath@WaggonerRanch.com Worth Metroplex area. Waggoner Ranch cowboys like and respect both families and consider them fair and generous. He served as trustee, and his three children, Guy Waggoner, Electra Waggoner Wharton, and E. Paul Waggoner comprised the Board of Directors. Fire Ants Have Unleashed Chaos in Texas for Decades. As it turned out, he didnt. (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.. After dinner by the creek, Dan suggested that they all ride into Frederick, Oklahoma, personally setting the pace. Some people believe that she would never have permitted the sale of the Waggoner Ranch. $720,000,000 Many thousands of additional acres of native pasture are suitable for cultivation, if desired. Either Guys two children would become their partners or E. Paul and Buster would have to buy them out. Lake Kemp, a popular North Texas fishing and recreational site, is located approximately 40 miles west of Wichita Falls in Cara Blanca Park, the recreational park surrounding the lake. As the frontier pushed westward, he expanded his herd and bought more land, in Clay and Wichita counties. A granite tombstone, set in the center of a small, neatly trimmed pasture, marks the grave of the greatest cutting horse of all time. They communicate by written memos, even though their offices are separated by only a few feet. [10], By 1909, W.T. 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. cattle inventory, horse inventory, horse facilities, brands . 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. The Waggoner Ranch: The Largest Acreage in America Under One Fence Dan sent Tom (his son), who was only 16 years old at the time, to Kansas City with a herd of 5,000 steers. discovered oil while trying to drill for water, Hughes tells me. They plied him with extravagant gifts: engraved pearl-handled revolvers, diamond stick pins, junkets to Fort Worth, Dallas, and Washington, D.C. The W.T. 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. Bernard Uechtritz, one of the property brokers, told the. Millionaire ranchers from Argentina and the elite of East Coast society came in their private planes for weekends of polo and debauchery. (It still is, except for the magnificent Wise County courthouse.) One thing you dont see on the ranch is windmills. Map: The Waggoner Ranch is really, really big, y'all - MySA Moreover, a sale would be taxed and so would the distribution of the money. Bucky wanted to make it clear that he believed the situation was untenable. The major block of this farmland, which is located on the northwest side of the ranch, contains approximately 14,000 acres. The W.T. 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. Cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch - Cowboys of Waggoner Ranch But Gene and Helen seem determined to do just that. 27 of 56 28 of 56 Cowboys on the Waggoner Ranch brand calves in the spring of 1983. Legend has it that Electra once blew $1 million in a single day at Neiman Marcus. 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. Joe Roberson showed me how to read the books. The last e-mail I got from him, he testified, [was] five years ago.. This treated water is used for human consumption to serve the substantial headquarter improvements. [6] Other towns nearby include Electra and Seymour. This iconic ranch property has been owned and operated by Waggoner heirs for approximately 165 years. Waggoner, a widower, and his young son, William Thomas, settled on Catlett Creek, near present-day Decatur.