(and future trustees) would have the sole right to make all management decisions. [8] The ranch spanned more than a million acres of land. He offered him pennies on the dollar for his fifty percent share., It was a paltry amount, Roberson agreed. Even when he was a young lad of 14, W.T. Our ranching operation includes, cattle, horses and the farm. Some people think that the last chance for a settlement died with Electra II. This was a time when much of Texas was open range and unexplored. Both families are already fabulously wealthy, though the wealth is in the land rather than their pockets. Beaver Creek feeds Santa Rosa Lake, and the Wichita River feeds Lake Kemp and Lake Diversion. The Bronc-busting, Cow-punching, Death-defying Legend of Boots ONeal, At Texas Swingers Clubs, the Lifestyle Is Booming. 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. 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. His daddy worked this ranch for fifteen years, and Shane grew up on Cowboy Row. She hosted parties of celebrities, movie stars, and barons of capitalism, including the daughter of J. P. Morgan. [8], After the death of Daniel Waggoner in 1902, his son W.T. Additionally, all livestock (cattle and horses), an extremely substantial inventory of rolling stock, farm equipment, pickups, trucks, etc., and considerable other personal property are included in this offering. 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. [5], Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}3354N 9900W / 33.9N 99.0W / 33.9; -99.0. Moreover, a sale would be taxed and so would the distribution of the money. He went on and on about how heartbroken he was and how much he missed them, but he didnt write them. It was notable for being the largest ranch within one fence in the United States. [6][12], When Guy Waggoner died in 1950, his sons sold their share of the estate to members of the family. I worked a couple of weeks gauging wells. The main headquarters at the Waggoner Ranch has municipal-quality water from Vernon. On each of those transactions, Kroenke had relied on Leadbetter's counsel and the insights of Sam Connolly, general manager of Kroenke Ranches. The greatest annual precipitation occurs to the east, in Archer and Wichita Counties, at just over 29 inches per year annually. He served as trustee, and his three children, Guy Waggoner, Electra Waggoner Wharton, and E. Paul Waggoner comprised the Board of Directors. Both were famous for breeding, the King Ranch for Santa Gertrudis cattle, the Waggoner Ranch for cutting horses. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. In 1965 he replaced Tony Hazelwood as foreman. Weve root-plowed, sprayed, pulled it up with a tractor, dug it up with a backhoe. A unified decision has now been made by the shareholders to sell this legendary ranch. 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. The Waggoner Ranch Store is located in the Waggoner Estate building in Vernon Texas. 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. I cant sit down, never could, he tells me. But by the 1920s, with the advent of the automobile, W.T.s attitude about oil had changed. 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 sale of the iconic Waggoner Ranch, while marking the end of one era, creates for a new owner the opportunity to begin another. Or so people say.. 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. Leave them blank to get signed up. The three smaller, 85,000-acre parcelsZacaweista, Four Corners, and Santa Rosawere gifts to his three children, Electra, Guy, and E. Paul. Gene is, by all accounts, gregarious and outgoing, a typical good ol boy who enjoys playing dominoes at the country club. HOUCHRON CAPTION (07/27/2003): A calf is branded on the ranch in 1983. He didnt want to sell the ranch, but he thought it could be divided, that a line could be drawn on a map so that each side would have a separate but equal share. Waggoner Estate Ranch. Biggss brother-in-law was the president of General Motors, and he later named a Buick model for Electra. 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. But for how much longer? We love our customers, so feel free to visit during normal business hours. Originally, the trust was supposed to expire after twenty years, in 1943, but the terms of the trust allowed it to be routinely extended in twenty-year increments until 1983. The cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch are living legends, men who embody the attributes of the lean and dusty riders who braved the wild a century ago to make room for a herd. To Buckys surprise, the Biggs family responded by filing suit, asking the court to liquidate the estate. Waggoner biographer Roze McCoy Porter writes that Electra spent $90,000 remodeling the one-year-old mansion and another $55,000 on draperies. Currently, Waggoner Ranch offspring are excelling in multiple competitive associations, including AQHA, Stock Horse of Texas, NRHA, NRCHA and NCHA. Perhaps they are afraid of ghosts. The Waggoner (Three D) Ranch had its beginnings in the early 1850s when Daniel Waggoner, his son W. T. (Tom), and a fifteen-year-old Black slave trailed 242 cattle and six horses into Wise County. Hawley is the ranch manager, and Im sitting in the passenger seat of his pickup, holding my third cup of coffee. [9] It also includes 30,000 acres of arable land and about 1,100 producing oil wells. The W. T. Waggoner Ranch is five-time winner of the Texas Ranch Roundup and a recipient of the American Quarter Horse Association's "Best of the Remuda Award". Dan died in 1903, leaving everything to Tom. Choose from multiple print sizes, border colors, and canvas materials. was determined to keep Electra nearby. An additional 320 acres were then purchased in 1856 near the small town of Decatur, marking the first major expansion of Waggoner's estate. They cant wait to get started. After Biggs fell ill with cancer in the early seventies, Moore was essentially running things, and the boardwhich then consisted of Electra II and Buckyappointed him trustee after Biggs died, in 1975. After a hard rain, this endless maze of graded red clay becomes a network of quagmires. Choose from multiple print sizes and hundreds of frame and mat options. You get in here far enough, it just swallows you up, Hughes tells me. I got two dollars a match. Cecil Smith, the world-famous ten-goal player, rode with Busters Waggoner Ranch team. By all rights the Waggoner Ranch ought to be the equal of the King Ranch in Texas lore. In a deposition filed with the court in 2001, Bucky acknowledged: We do not meet face to face, just he and I. Look out there! All rights reserved. Now look at it! [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. As Smith put it, They were a beer-and-champagne twosome.. After Guy died, E. Paul and Buster faced the issue of what would become of his shares in the Waggoner estate. 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. [13] He once played there with polo champion Cecil Smith. Now the fate of the ranch was up to the court. Nobodys sure. The Waggoner is one of the 20 largest cattle ranches in the U.S. and is known worldwide for its quarter horses. divided the ranch that he and his dad had founded into four large tracts. 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.. and 283. The majority of the ranch is in native pasture, supporting a mixed variety of palatable native grasses. This sprawling property is approximately three-fourths the size of Rhode Island. Why do they fight on? Today the ranch consists of approximately 535,000 acres, and is recognized as the largest ranch in Texas under one fence. Can College Sports Get More Absurd Than SMU Joining the Pac-12? Some area ranches have rural water systems available, but still principally rely on creeks and ponds as their major water source. Thats the only reason anyone would want to sell.. We would love to have our customers come by and see us and see our newly remodeled store. the estate. Judge Neely accepted this language. 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. In 1923, W. T. formed what is known today as the W. T. Waggoner Estate. Its been vacant ever since. Some whitetail deer on the Waggoner Ranch are estimated to be of Boone and Crockett quality. Several small on-site water wells are also located in this large block of farmland. Employees of the Waggoner Ranch horse operation concentrate on raising horses for working ranch purposes and strive to create athletic and trainable horses that are 15-hands tall with outstanding conformation. $ 58.00. Waggoner Ranch is, the five-time winner of the Texas Ranch Roundup and a recipient of the American Quarter Horse Associations Best of the Remuda Award.. Its like watching the death of a huge and magnificent animal: People cant bear to look, yet theyre powerless to turn away. [6] Other towns nearby include Electra and Seymour. The other half belonged to Electra Waggoner Biggs, through various trusts. Electra prevailed, as usual. Horses have always been big business at the Waggoner Ranch. The squabbling that has ensnared the ranch for almost a century began on Christmas Day of. Not a shred, she told me. 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 1877, Burk Burnett (6666 Ranch), Col. C.C. If you fill out the first name, last name, or agree to terms fields, you will NOT be added to the newsletter list. Either way, your shopping cart will be active until you leave the store. I was there. He owns a bank, an oil company, and a cattle company, but he is happiest when he is working outdoors or having dinner with his family. 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 Waggoner Ranch is a historic north Texas ranch located 13 miles south of Vernon, Texas. [6] His children would elect a Board of Trustees, who would make decisions with him at the helm. Chip Gaines Bought Larry McMurtrys Historic Texas Bookstore. Waggoner Ranch is a working one, with 20 cowboy camps scattered throughout the property to house the more than 120 workers. 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. A municipal waterline from nearby Seymour serves some of the homes located at Lake Kemp. An enormous picture window with a panoramic view of the ranch replaced the porthole-size window of 1910. Waggoner Estate Ranch and related assets are now, for the first time ever, being offered for sale at a guideline listed price 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. W.T. Killen knew that Bucky was strapped with legal fees from the court battles of the sixties, Hughes told me. The current inventory of studs, mares, geldings and colts is approximately 474 head. Located about a three-hour drive north-west of Dallas, the Waggoner ranch was founded in 1849 and has remained in the family ever since. By contrast, Bucky is reserved, private, and serious about his business affairs. It is as much a part of the legacy as horses, cattle, oil, opulent mansions, divorces, and drunken sprees. He began buying land in western Wise County in 1870. Its a constant battle. Over these past three decades, Bucky has absorbed every inch of this ranch and most of its colorful history. 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. In one, he wished Electra happy birthday and said, I bought you a $2,500 bond.. One of the most interesting properties at Zacaweista is the gothic stone barn where Buster Wharton bred his polo ponies. As the sun begins to crawl over the horizon, Hawley marvels at the endless prairie. It doesnt seem real to even think about it, he says. ACRES Approximately 41.67% of the mineral rights with a pro-rata portion of the executive leasing rights are expected to convey with the sale. Wharton, a Philadelphia blue blood she met while traveling in the Himalayas. 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. Stretching across six North Texas counties, the Waggoner Ranch is considered to be extremely well located. Because of Toms great influence on the horse industry, he became a founding member of the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA). This iconic ranch property has been owned and operated by Waggoner heirs for approximately 165 years. A number that denotes the foal's dam is placed on the left shoulder, and the ranch's famous D brand is placed under that. And You Thought Feral Hogs Were Bad. 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. 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. | The headquarters at Zacaweista is a small, self-contained village built around a park that the cowboys call the square. In its center lies the grave of Tony Hazelwood, a legendary Waggoner cowboy and longtime foreman, who died in 1965. [9] In 1902, W.T. We would love to have our customers come by and see us and see our newly remodeled store. Worth Metroplex area. W. T. Waggoner Ranch is currently developing hunting opportunities for quail, wild hog and deer. 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. Find a huge selection of trailers from DooLittle and SureTrac in MO. When E. Paul drew Zacaweista instead, W.T. Meanwhile, the Waggoner family tree was sprouting more branches. Some of the larger main shipping pens are equipped with hydraulic chutes and scales. 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. Though their homesteads are only a few miles apart, the families of Bucky Wharton, the original Electras grandson, and Gene Willingham, Electra IIs son-in-law, might as well live on separate continents.