Poco Bueno died in 1969 and was buried in a standing position in front of the main ranch entrance. 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. But W.T. Genes got to drive within fifty feet of Buckys house every morning and again every evening to get to his own place. After Guy died, E. Paul and Buster faced the issue of what would become of his shares in the Waggoner estate. I worked for six months with various people in the oil and the ranching divisions, he told me. W T Waggoner Ranch Brand Honoring Waggoner Ranch Family and Owners If you fill out the first name, last name, or agree to terms fields, you will NOT be added to the newsletter list. 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. To Buckys surprise, the Biggs family responded by filing suit, asking the court to liquidate the estate. LOCATION Brooks, Jim Wells, Kenedy, Kleberg, Nueces, and Willacy counties. Gene has told people that the ranch would sell in no time, the whole 520,000 acres. 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. All pens are very well maintained. But selling the ranchor, worse still, permitting the court to liquidate itwould cost both sides dearly in taxes and prestige. The Waggoner Ranch was established in 1849 by Dan Waggoner. 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. As the sun begins to crawl over the horizon, Hawley marvels at the endless prairie. The family feud began the moment the old man rigged the game. Both lakes offer good fishing, boating, and water skiing, and the Waggoner Ranch leases out approximately 500 privately-owned housing sites surrounding these two lakes. What does it take to be a good cowboy? I ask. Its a weird deal. The King Ranch, based in south Texas, has more acreage spread over several parcels. A full moon hangs over West Diving Board Pasture. At an early age, Dan started building what would become a ranching empire and founded the Waggoner Ranch in 1849. Houses back then were very dark, with low ceilings and small windows. Dan died in 1903, leaving everything to Tom. Our horses are American Quarter Horses and we raise them for our use on the ranch. W. T. Waggoner Ranch is currently developing hunting opportunities for quail, wild hog and deer. W.T. 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. [13] He once played there with polo champion Cecil Smith. We have unique items that feature our brand. Bucky and Gene run the operation from offices in the W. T. Waggoner Estate Building. This was probably a bluff. We love our customers, so feel free to visit during normal business hours. This is what shes good at, raising cattle. Hawley is 52 and has been at the ranch since 1972, working his way up from cowpuncher to straw boss to headquarters boss and finally to ranch manager. Salt cedar is found along creek and river courses, and cedar is moderate to dense in the rougher, eroded areas of the ranch. These live creeks and their tributaries provide a desirable source of livestock water throughout the property. 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. 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. [8] W.T. 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 had grown up in Albuquerque, where his mother, the third of Buster Whartons four wives, had moved after their divorce, when Bucky was two. He went on and on about how heartbroken he was and how much he missed them, but he didnt write them. Waggoner Estate Ranch. Killen knew that Bucky was strapped with legal fees from the court battles of the sixties, Hughes told me. Cowboys ambling from the bunkhouse to the cookhouse for their five-thirty breakfast see her loping across pastures, dodging bulls and pump jacks. Marketing is done through private treaty and production sales. A unified decision has now been made by the shareholders to sell this legendary ranch. Sign up to receive timely, useful information in your inbox. 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. . From the highway, its pastures seem timeless and impregnable. In the late eighties, as the oil revenue began to peter out, the new trustee of the Waggoner estate, Charles Prather, resigned. Choose from multiple print sizes, border colors, and canvas materials. The land was used primarily to raise crops, beef cattleand horsesas well as for oil production. Stretching across six North Texas counties, the Waggoner Ranch is considered to be extremely well located. Waggoner Estate Ranch and related assets are now, for the first time ever, being offered for sale at a guideline listed price of $725,000,000. After a time everyone seemed in agreement on all except one pointmaintenance of the dam at Santa Rosa Lake. They chose the latter. He either didnt care or didnt notice that E. Pauls clanespecially his socialite wife, Helenconsidered Electras line of the family to be tainted and Buster to be an irresponsible spendthrift, and they were plotting for the day when they could force the Whartons out. On each of those transactions, Kroenke had relied on Leadbetter's counsel and the insights of Sam Connolly, general manager of Kroenke Ranches. The Texanist: Why Dont Texas Houses Have Basements? The W.T. Behind his back, other employees referred to Moore as Rasputin. When I asked Joline if they had found any memorabilia from Electras time, she laughed. After the first freeze, 120,000 geese will land on Santa Rosa Lake and feast on winter wheat fields. The Bold Brand - The Land Report With the trust on the verge of expiring, Bucky and Electra II agreed to extend it until March 31, 2003. 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. The last e-mail I got from him, he testified, [was] five years ago.. W.T. I cant sit down, never could, he tells me. At the same time, they amended the bylaws to allow either party to give notice of termination within certain windows of timean amendment that would later prove crucial in the battle over the ranch. In the late sixties Bucky attended the University of the Americas, in Mexico City. Many thousands of additional acres of native pasture are suitable for cultivation, if desired. 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. Joe Roberson, who was the estates auditor for many years, describes him this way: Big belt buckle, expensive boots, a bottle of whiskey. E. Paul had a good eye for horseshe bought Poco Bueno, the great cutting horse sireand loved to be seen as the ultimate cattle baron, but a retired Waggoner Ranch foreman named G. L. Proctor told me, He wasnt much of a rider. 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. The ranch was established in 1849 and spans six Texas counties and almost 800 square miles. All rights reserved. Texas Purple Hull Pea Festival Is More Than an Event. Sign up to hear from us about specials, sales, and events. And so they were, for a hundred years and more. At every opportunity, Dan Waggoner purchased land. 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. Over the years, a substantial amount of brush work has been done, and the mesquite canopy ranges from nearly extinct to moderate over portions of the ranch. W. T. Waggoner Ranch - LARGEST RANCH UNDER ONE FENCE Bernard Uechtritz of Briggs-Freeman Sothebys International Realty in Dallas, and Sam Middleton, of Chas. The many improvements and related assets mentioned above combine to offer the purchaser an extremely attractive depreciation schedule. Buster Wharton Jr., a polo player, playboy, and famous drunk who died of cirrhosis of the liver in 1963. They seldom speak and hardly ever socialize. 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. Waggoner Ranch - AQHA - American Quarter Horse Association Brokers: Sale of Waggoner ranch looks hopeful as bidding ends - Chron Though its a nicer house, the Willinghams have never moved up there. As land was cleared for settlement, he gradually moved west and by the late 1870s settled along Beaver Creek near Electra Texas. Or so people say.. [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. The Waggoner Ranch Store is located in the Waggoner Estate building in Vernon Texas. [6][11] E. Paul Waggoner raised Quarter Horses on the ranch. After a big wedding in Decatur, the couple honeymooned in Europe and then planned to settle in Philadelphia. They married in 1969. Didnt any of them have to work or suffer to get it. She finally pulled up in front of the Vernon drugstore, pieces of gate and fence hanging off the car, Bucky tells me. Instead of six bedrooms, it now has four. Cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch. They gathered information on the value of individual pastures, with the help of foreman Jimmy Lee Smith. The squabbling that has ensnared the ranch for almost a century began on Christmas Day of. But Wait, There's More A smattering of the more than 4,000 items listed on the. The dispute seemed to highlight Bucky and Genes contrasting attitudesone loved the land, the other loved the money. Currently, Waggoner Ranch offspring are excelling in multiple competitive associations, including AQHA, Stock Horse of Texas, NRHA, NRCHA and NCHA. 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. Legend has it that Electra once blew $1 million in a single day at Neiman Marcus. Today, the W. T. Waggoner Ranch is managed by Sam Connolly of Bozeman. 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. 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. Texas became the 28th state on December 29, 1845, so the Waggoner Ranch is nearly as old as Texas itself. 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. Most sets of pens are capable of handling several thousand head of cattle at one time. 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. But even as board members, they were powerless to exercise any authority over the ranch, except to elect future trustees. [14] After Electra Waggoner Biggs's death, her share was inherited by Electra Waggoner Biggs's daughter Helen Biggs and her husband, Gene Willingham. Yet the Waggoner Ranch has outlasted its South Texas rival in one respect: It is still under the direct control of its founding family. Several small on-site water wells are also located in this large block of farmland. The facility is equipped to do embryo transfers and has both indoor and outdoor arenas, two barns, and over 30 stalls. 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. (It still is, except for the magnificent Wise County courthouse.) He first settled on Catlett Creek near the site of present Decatur. [8], After the death of Daniel Waggoner in 1902, his son W.T. [6] Guy Waggoner lived there with his wife Anne Burnett, the daughter of Samuel Burk Burnett and heiress of the 6666 Ranch from 1922 until their divorce. The Waggoner Ranchis a historic north Texasranch located 13 miles south of Vernon, Texas. Its now the residence of Gene and Helen Willingham. discovered oil while trying to drill for water, Hughes tells me. 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. Jos R. Ralat is Texas Monthlys taco editor, writing about tacos and Mexican food. Who was going to be responsible for it? asked his children to draw cards for the three parcels. 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. The ranch is fenced and crossfenced, with an estimated several thousand miles of ranch roads and ranch fencing. 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. They were mailed while she was socializing in New York with her daughter, named after E. Pauls sister, Electra, and known as Electra II. S. Middleton & Son in Lubbock are honored to announce the exclusive offering of the historic W.T. Slaughter (Slaughter Ranches), Jim Loving (JA Ranch) and Dan and W.T. Electra prevailed, as usual. Subscribe Contact Us We love our customers, so feel free to visit during normal business hours. 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. Daniel Vaughn is the countrys first barbecue editor, and he has eaten more barbecue than you have. He knows the ranch, its cast of characters, and its skeletons and stories as well as any outsider. 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. Apparently they just agreed to continue to disagree. Three pivot sprinkler systems are used to distribute irrigation water to three large fields on the ranch. The summer after his discharge, in 1970, Bucky decided it was time to move to the ranch and begin his real education. Historically, potable drinking water has been an issue on the Waggoner Ranch, and for that matter, on many other ranches in this area of North Texas. Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pats Pick, for Texas Monthly. I just knew that life there was a lot different from life in Albuquerque. In 1963, when Bucky was fifteen, Buster Wharton died, leaving a will that gave his share of the Waggoner estate to his widow and his shotguns to Bucky. As Parker biographer Bill Neeley has noted, ethics and morality played no part of this business arrangement. You Can Now Buy a Texas Ranch That's the Size of a Small Nation, For It would be Helens husband, Gene Willingham, who would one day become Bucky Whartons main opponent in the struggle over the Waggoner Ranch. Its the Story of Shankleville, One of the States Early Freedom Colonies. Now he lives in the bunkhouse. has created a haven for deer, turkey, quail, dove, waterfowl and feral hogs. [5], The ranch is located west of Wichita Falls, Texas, south of Vernon, near the Red River. Historically, the Waggoner Ranch has been operated as a cow/calf ranching unit, with stocker cattle used for seasonal grazing on wheat fields. 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. Seafood City (California, Hawaii, Washington, Nevada, Illinois) - Filipino American. It comprises 520,000 acres in six counties, and is the home for 12,000 mother cows. The Big Pasture, however, remained available for grazing and hunting. [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. The house eventually fell apart and was torn down. Its a perfect October morning, cool and crisp, and the ranch spreads out in every direction, 25 miles north to south, 30 miles east to west. 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. Since Electra IIs death, in 2001, the board has been composed of these two men who rarely speak to each other. 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. Since his retirement, in 1991, Proctor has lived in Vernon, raising a few cows and tending his yard. John and Electra had two daughtersa third Electra and Helen. Biggss brother-in-law was the president of General Motors, and he later named a Buick model for Electra. The cattle will be sold, along with the trucks that haul them, and the vast pastures will be chopped up, and who knows what will replace them. (Tom) Waggoner was heard to say, There I was with more than 5,000 big, wild steers, 50 sore-backed horses, $12 and 16 years of my life., In a 1956 article in The Quarter Horse Journal, Franklin Reynolds notes, It was possibly Tom Waggoners experiences with those sorry horses that caused him to resolve to always have good ones. No Waggoner is buried on the ranch, only this one cowboy and a few early settlers in unmarked graves. We farm approximately 25,000 that we use to graze cattle and raise crops for sale and internal use. The W.T. He kept the east side of the ranch, called White Face, for himself. Some people think that the last chance for a settlement died with Electra II. The Waggoner Ranch Reversed D Brand is burned on the right hip of calves, and dates back to June 11, 1849. 27 of 56 28 of 56 Cowboys on the Waggoner Ranch brand calves in the spring of 1983. W.T. Bucky Wharton didnt think of the ranch as his heritage until he was in high school at Culver Military Academy, in Indiana. Horses have always been big business at the Waggoner Ranch. 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. The only time we dont work, Hawley tells me, is when its raining and lightning, or when its very hot. 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. Its like watching the death of a huge and magnificent animal: People cant bear to look, yet theyre powerless to turn away. 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. Then, in 1997, Bucky and Roberson drew another map, this time setting aside the two homesteads, and again offered Gene first choice. He served as trustee, and his three children, Guy Waggoner, Electra Waggoner Wharton, and E. Paul Waggoner comprised the Board of Directors. [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. 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. The W.T. 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. In his entire life, he never drew a paycheck from anyone but the Waggoners. HOUCHRON CAPTION (07/27/2003): A calf is branded on the ranch in 1983. They communicate by written memos, even though their offices are separated by only a few feet. Waggoner Ranch is now officially, for the first time ever in its history, offered for sale on the international marketplace. Some people dont see it, but shes beautiful. 1700 Deaf Smith St., Vernon, TX 76384, US. They say he was as mad as a nest of hornets. Waggoner raised Quarter Horses on the ranch, including Poco Bueno, who was buried on the ranch. The Waggoner is one of the 20 largest cattle ranches in the U.S. and is known worldwide for its quarter horses. Heath@WaggonerRanch.com The ranch is reported to be the largest contiguous ranching operation of its kind under one fence in Texas, and one of the largest in the United States. $720,000,000 WHAT WE DO: We deliver strategic, brand-driven marketing communications solutions and deploy content that truly resonates . Tim Leon - President, Chief Strategy Officer - LinkedIn After her husband died, Electra II did not keep up the pressure on Bucky, as John Biggs and Killen Moore had done. The ranch originally operated under the name of Dan Waggoner & Son. It was notable for being the largest ranch within one fence in the United States. Busters card room, on the second floor, which was once walled in leather, now has the original wood exposed. W. T. Waggoner Ranch is located 13 miles south of Vernon, Texas with office headquarters in Vernon. 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.. Cowboying isnt a profession, its a life, but if the Waggoner Ranch is broken up into pieces, that life will exist no more. Now the fate of the ranch was up to the court. 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. After a hard rain, this endless maze of graded red clay becomes a network of quagmires. Numerous food plots are located adjacent to these protected creek bottom areas, and these food plots serve as a magnet for wildlife. After that, negotiations were dead in the water. Gene remembered it differently. As Smith put it, They were a beer-and-champagne twosome.. This is a diverse operation consisting of cattle, horses, farming, oil, recreational lakes and wildlife. divided the ranch that he and his dad had founded into four large tracts. [8] The ranch spanned more than a million acres of land. In May, Judge Neely heard the motion for partial summary judgment and made his ruling. A complete list of this inventory can be made available. 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.

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