Now 56, Bucky is one of the protagonists in the battle over the future of the ranch. We opened it up. Today the home is bright and welcoming. 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. The Waggoner is one of the 20 largest cattle ranches in the U.S. and is known worldwide for its quarter horses. Poco Bueno died in 1969 and was buried in a standing position in front of the main ranch entrance. Its now the residence of Gene and Helen Willingham. This is a diverse operation consisting of cattle, horses, farming, oil, recreational lakes and wildlife. Reply Anonymous February 3, 2013 at 8:00 PM In 1965 he replaced Tony Hazelwood as foreman. "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 Ranchis a historic north Texasranch located 13 miles south of Vernon, Texas. He borrowed a large sum from his nonagenarian grandmother, Ella, who later transferred the note to E. Paul. 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. He offered him pennies on the dollar for his fifty percent share., It was a paltry amount, Roberson agreed. The many improvements and related assets mentioned above combine to offer the purchaser an extremely attractive depreciation schedule. When they supplied them, he fumed. They wintered the herd that year in Clay County and the following spring drove it to market, netting a profit of $55,000. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Showdown at Waggoner Ranch - Texas Monthly In later years, W.T. The Waggoner has been owned by the same family almost as long as Texas been a state. hoped that his kids would learn to ranch and develop a sense of responsibility. Both ranches once covered more than a million acres. Copyright 2023 Waggoner Ranch Store - All Rights Reserved. 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. Numerous food plots are located adjacent to these protected creek bottom areas, and these food plots serve as a magnet for wildlife. Jos R. Ralat is Texas Monthlys taco editor, writing about tacos and Mexican food. Wharton, a Philadelphia blue blood she met while traveling in the Himalayas. 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. Currently, Waggoner Ranch offspring are excelling in multiple competitive associations, including AQHA, Stock Horse of Texas, NRHA, NRCHA and NCHA. 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. Or so people say.. The majority of the ranch is in native pasture, supporting a mixed variety of palatable native grasses. Waggoner Estate office building in downtown Vernon, and most importantly, the exclusive right and use of the iconic Waggoner Ranch name, historic brand, and related rights are expected to convey within the sale. Please create an account or shop as a guest. A good cowboy does what the foreman tells him and waits for his paycheck and for the sun to go down., Now the sun is going down on the Waggoner Ranch, perhaps forever. The Waggoner Ranch Store is located in the Waggoner Estate building in Vernon Texas. [9] One of the lakes on the ranch provides water for the City of Wichita Falls. As a boy, Bucky visited the ranch at Christmas and during the summer, but he was never close to his father and knew nothing about cattle or oil. E. Paul was a dapper, dashing Hollywood-style cowboy, with a mustache and mischievous eyes. I guess you could say its traumatic, but in two or three days the calves will forget they ever had mamas, Weldon Hawley says in response to my city-boy question. 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. Electra prevailed, as usual. A drought in the last part of the nineteenth century made the land where the Waggoner Ranch now sits nearly useless for growing crops. John and Electra had two daughtersa third Electra and Helen. Moore astonished Bucky by trying to buy his stock in the estate. [3][14][15] It was ultimately sold in February 2016 to billionaire Stan Kroenke, the husband of Wal-Mart heiress Ann Walton Kroenke and current owner of the National Football League's Los Angeles Rams and the Premier League's Arsenal F.C. These live creeks and their tributaries provide a desirable source of livestock water throughout the property. It comprises 520,000 acres in six counties, and is the home for 12,000 mother cows. [14] Her second cousin, Albert Buckman Wharton III, also known as Bucky Wharton, who was Buster Wharton's son, appealed to stop the liquidation. Some say these deer may have never heard a rifle shot. The greatest annual precipitation occurs to the east, in Archer and Wichita Counties, at just over 29 inches per year annually. 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. We see a bunch of javelinas too, and a bobcat as big as a mountain lion. They are already being augmented by Kroenke Ranches' world-class commercial Angus herd. Its a trade that suits only a select few for whom the life satisfies rather than restricts. B. Nearby Vernon, which serves as the famed headquarters for the ranch operations office complex, receives an average of 28 inches per year. SOLD. 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. Vernon, the county seat of Wilbarger County, is located approximately 12 miles due north of the ranch. This was probably a bluff. [14] After Electra Waggoner Biggs's death, her share was inherited by Electra Waggoner Biggs's daughter Helen Biggs and her husband, Gene Willingham. [6], After W.T. By the 1880s, the Waggoners Victorian mansion, El Castile, was the most prominent structure in Decatur. 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. Millionaire ranchers from Argentina and the elite of East Coast society came in their private planes for weekends of polo and debauchery. What does it take to be a good cowboy? I ask. Deal of the Century: Waggoner Ranch - The Land Report At every opportunity, Dan Waggoner purchased land. Things were working smoothly at that moment, but neither side believed the harmony would last. 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. [6] However, in 1923, he changed his mind, and set up a Massachusetts trust. It seems inconceivable that they cant agree on a compromise. Waggoner Ranch Store The squabbling that has ensnared the ranch for almost a century began on Christmas Day of that year, when W.T. As previously noted, this massive holding spans six North Texas counties. W T Waggoner Ranch Brand Honoring Waggoner Ranch Family and Owners Canvas Print by Richard W Linford. [6] Electra Waggoner mostly resided at Thistle Hill in Fort Worth, although her husband, Albert Buck Wharton, operated a livery yard and horse stables on the ranch. 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. 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. But selling the ranchor, worse still, permitting the court to liquidate itwould cost both sides dearly in taxes and prestige. 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. $720,000,000 Leave them blank to get signed up. Its absence symbolizes the fate of the Guy Waggoner clan in the history of the ranch. We invite you to browse through our store and shop with confidence. Bernard Uechtritz of Briggs-Freeman Sothebys International Realty in Dallas, and Sam Middleton, of Chas. 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. Numerous smaller cultivated fields are scattered throughout the ranch. 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. | Then, in 1997, Bucky and Roberson drew another map, this time setting aside the two homesteads, and again offered Gene first choice. Bucky and Gene and their lawyers were there. 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. Bucky Wharton didnt think of the ranch as his heritage until he was in high school at Culver Military Academy, in Indiana. List of supermarket chains in the United States - Wikipedia We farm approximately 25,000 that we use to graze cattle and raise crops for sale and internal use. The Waggoner Ranch was established in 1849 by Dan Waggoner. Another number brand is placed on the left hip to denote the year. Very few test wells havepenetrated the remaining 400,000 acres. In the late sixties Bucky attended the University of the Americas, in Mexico City. Killen knew that Bucky was strapped with legal fees from the court battles of the sixties, Hughes told me. They chose the latter. As Parker biographer Bill Neeley has noted, ethics and morality played no part of this business arrangement. Moore resigned as trustee in the early eighties, at a critical moment for the estate. Beaver Creek feeds Santa Rosa Lake, and the Wichita River feeds Lake Kemp and Lake Diversion. What he got was just the opposite. They seldom speak and hardly ever socialize. All canvas prints are professionally printed, assembled, and shipped within 3 - 4 business days and delivered ready-to-hang on your wall. The squabbling that has ensnared the ranch for almost a century began on Christmas Day of. Choose from multiple print sizes and hundreds of frame and mat options. Cowboying isnt a profession, its a life, but if the Waggoner Ranch is broken up into pieces, that life will exist no more. On the other three sides are a number of buildings constructed of identical reddish-brown stone, quarried on the eastern part of the ranch. [13] He once played there with polo champion Cecil Smith. The current inventory of studs, mares, geldings and colts is approximately 474 head. The W.T. 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. 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. 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. Photographs of his wife and children occupied a bookshelf beside four footballs labeled Coach Bucky Whartongifts from former University of Texas coach David McWilliams, whod invited Wharton to join him on the sidelines at several UT games. She left the motor running, didnt even bother to shut it off, and walked to the depot and took the next train out of town. When Guy moved to New Mexico, Tony Hazelwood, who hated his guts, showed his disrespect by storing oats on the homes prized hardwood floors. 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. 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. The Bronc-busting, Cow-punching, Death-defying Legend of Boots ONeal, At Texas Swingers Clubs, the Lifestyle Is Booming. 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. Potential buyers include a group of Japanese investors, Ross Perot Jr., Boone Pickens, even the Mormon churchor so go the rumors. Its like watching the death of a huge and magnificent animal: People cant bear to look, yet theyre powerless to turn away. My first job was walkin hotscooling down winded horsesbetween chuckers. Thats the case that has been snaking through Judge Tom Neelys Forty-sixth District Court, in Wilbarger County, for these past twelve years. In a January 2003 deposition, Gene said he sent Bucky his own draft of the map but never got a reply. Whats Up With All the Kangaroos on the Loose in Texas? In the late eighties, as the oil revenue began to peter out, the new trustee of the Waggoner estate, Charles Prather, resigned. Thats the only reason anyone would want to sell.. Hes not a large man, but his pleasant and unassuming manner and his quiet, considered confidence give him stature. The Bold Brand - The Land Report Meanwhile, the Waggoner family tree was sprouting more branches. You have no voice here and you never will.. Bucky wanted to make it clear that he believed the situation was untenable. 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. [11], The ranch has been surveyed by the United States Department of Agriculture for matters of preservation. [8] W.T. Buster never liked cows; the only thing about the ranch he cared about was horses, especially his polo ponies. In later years, W.T. Now the fate of the ranch was up to the court. [4][8] From 1889 to 1903, they acquired land in Wichita County, Wilbarger County as well as Foard County, Knox County, Baylor County and Archer County. 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. You Can Now Buy a Texas Ranch That's the Size of a Small Nation, For [6] Thirty cowboys, and about 120 people overall, are employed on the property. 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. 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. 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. 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. One side wants the ranch divided equally but otherwise left intact. His daddy worked this ranch for fifteen years, and Shane grew up on Cowboy Row. The Waggoner Ranch was ordered liquidated. We report on vital issues from politics to education and are the indispensable authority on the Texas scene, covering everything from music to cultural events with insightful recommendations. The other wants to sell the ranch and divide the assets. What the hell could he do with oil! They work six and sometimes seven days a week, from daylight until the job is done, often late at night. But Gene and Helen seem determined to do just that. San Antonio Luxury Resort - The Villas at La Cantera HOUCHRON CAPTION (07/27/2003): A calf is branded on the ranch in 1983. 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. 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. [6] It has about 14,000 cows and bulls as well as 500 horses. One thing you dont see on the ranch is windmills. 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. 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. Mesquite is the major invader in this part of Texas. It doesnt seem real to even think about it, he says. Texas Purple Hull Pea Festival Is More Than an Event. was determined to keep Electra nearby. Moreover, a sale would be taxed and so would the distribution of the money. E. Paul, a whiskey-drinking, poker-playing party animal, stayed married to his wife, Helen, for fifty years, but few people doubted the rumors that he kept mistresses in Mexico and South Texas. [8] By 1903, he sold some of the land near China Creek to developers. A portion of this acreage is seeded to very productive Coastal Bermuda. The W. T. Waggoner Estate is the nation's largest ranch under one fence. Cowboys worry that the feud will destroy the ranch. In total, the ranch spans nearly 800 square miles. [10], By 1909, W.T. Can College Sports Get More Absurd Than SMU Joining the Pac-12? The wooded river and creek courses offer exceptional cover and desirable habitat for native game. In the lower draws and creek bottoms, hackberry and soapberry trees are common. Most other ranches in this general area also rely on creek water and earthen ponds. Santa Rosa Lake covers approximately 1,400 surface acres when full. There is a photograph of her in the Red River Valley Museum, near Vernon College, along with a large collection of her work: busts of Will Rogers, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Bob Hope, Knute Rockne, Amon Carter, John Nance Garner. Texas became the 28th state on December 29, 1845, so the Waggoner Ranch is nearly as old as Texas itself. Most sets of pens are capable of handling several thousand head of cattle at one time. When full, Lake Kemp covers an area of over 16,540 surface acres and Lake Diversion covers approximately 3,420 surface acres. Gene has told people that the ranch would sell in no time, the whole 520,000 acres. Neither the Willinghams nor the Whartons have the funds to buy the other out. Some whitetail deer on the Waggoner Ranch are estimated to be of Boone and Crockett quality.