Instead of six bedrooms, it now has four. Marketing is done through private treaty and production sales. This sprawling property is approximately three-fourths the size of Rhode Island. Bucky Wharton didnt think of the ranch as his heritage until he was in high school at Culver Military Academy, in Indiana. 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. You get in here far enough, it just swallows you up, Hughes tells me. He pointed to an impenetrable thicket of mesquite and told me, Thirty years ago we cleared that pasture, all the way to Beaver Creek. His most arresting feature is his green eyes, which are reminiscent of the luminous eyes that made his grandmother, the original Electra, such a commanding figure. [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. 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. They plied him with extravagant gifts: engraved pearl-handled revolvers, diamond stick pins, junkets to Fort Worth, Dallas, and Washington, D.C. The letters were typed by his secretary, Neely told me. [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. But selling the ranchor, worse still, permitting the court to liquidate itwould cost both sides dearly in taxes and prestige. [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. He secretly wanted his favorite, Electra, to draw Zacaweista, because it was nearest to his homestead. The rich and spoiled siblings nearly squandered the family fortune on wild parties, all-night poker games, trips around the world, and divorce settlements. All rights reserved. As a consequence, the King Ranch scions moved comfortably in elite Texas social, political, and business circles, while the Waggoners never achieved the same degree of prominence. At an early age, Dan started building what would become a ranching empire and founded the Waggoner Ranch in 1849. Enlow is an advertising, media and fine arts photographer based in Fort Worth. The settlers, most of them German or Czech, moved north of Paradise Creek, which runs just beyond the present northern boundary of the ranch. W T Waggoner Ranch Brand Honoring Waggoner Ranch Family and Owners Anne was the granddaughter of W.T.s friend Burk Burnett and hardly the type to sit around waiting for a roving husband. The King Ranch, based in south Texas, has more acreage spread over several parcels. [10], By 1909, W.T. One thing you dont see on the ranch is windmills. 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. 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. Neither the Willinghams nor the Whartons have the funds to buy the other out. LOCATION Brooks, Jim Wells, Kenedy, Kleberg, Nueces, and Willacy counties. I cant sit down, never could, he tells me. Neither of her parents came to the wedding; biographer Porter reports that E. Paul and Helen were having marital problems. The W.T. The ranch is approximately 175 miles northwest of the Dallas/Ft. [8] By 1903, he sold some of the land near China Creek to developers. Numerous large, functional and well designed sets of shipping and working pens are scattered throughout the ranch. There are none to be seen, because there is not a drop of groundwater. Now the fate of the ranch was up to the court. The three smaller, 85,000-acre parcelsZacaweista, Four Corners, and Santa Rosawere gifts to his three children, Electra, Guy, and E. Paul. In 1869 Dan made seventeen-year-old W.T. While drilling for water, W.T. Its a weird deal. 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. Some of the larger main shipping pens are equipped with hydraulic chutes and scales. Seymour, the county seat of Baylor County, is several miles south of the ranch, and has a runway that is 4,300 feet long. By all rights the Waggoner Ranch ought to be the equal of the King Ranch in Texas lore. We love our customers, so feel free to visit during normal business hours. Potential buyers include a group of Japanese investors, Ross Perot Jr., Boone Pickens, even the Mormon churchor so go the rumors. One of the most interesting properties at Zacaweista is the gothic stone barn where Buster Wharton bred his polo ponies. 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. The entryway is glass, and there is a skylight over the vaulted ceiling above the staircase. The only time we dont work, Hawley tells me, is when its raining and lightning, or when its very hot. 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. Numerous food plots are located adjacent to these protected creek bottom areas, and these food plots serve as a magnet for wildlife. They gathered information on the value of individual pastures, with the help of foreman Jimmy Lee Smith. 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. The many improvements and related assets mentioned above combine to offer the purchaser an extremely attractive depreciation schedule. Maybe thats why Judge Neely told me that he has no intention of setting a deadline. We have unique items that feature our brand. Apparently they just agreed to continue to disagree. The little village of Lockett, where the descendants of those settlers now live, is wet in another way: It is the nearest spot where citizens of Vernon can buy beer and liquor. 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. Cowboying isnt a profession, its a life, but if the Waggoner Ranch is broken up into pieces, that life will exist no more. They chose the latter. This was probably a bluff. It may be many years before a similar ranch of this magnitude becomes available, if ever. and 283. Dan died in 1903, leaving everything to Tom. Moore astonished Bucky by trying to buy his stock in the estate. Inside the Decades-long Effort to Commemorate a Notorious Waco Lynching. The ranch has perfected water right permits to pump approximately 3,893 acre feet of water annually, which is used to irrigate farmland and water the grounds around major headquarter improvements. 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. Genes got to drive within fifty feet of Buckys house every morning and again every evening to get to his own place. Waggoner Ranch - AQHA - American Quarter Horse Association [6][12], When Guy Waggoner died in 1950, his sons sold their share of the estate to members of the family. Most other ranches in this general area also rely on creek water and earthen ponds. Hostile Comanches and Kiowas, plus a few foolhardy nesters trying to scratch out a living, occupied this endless stretch of grassland. In early 1963 Buster filed a lawsuit, seeking a dispensation to sell shares, but he died before the matter was litigated. She finally pulled up in front of the Vernon drugstore, pieces of gate and fence hanging off the car, Bucky tells me. W.T. Waggoner Estate Ranch | Chas S. Middleton Passing under a granite arch, we head down a long, paved driveway to Zacaweista, an Indian word meaning good grass. Its the name of both the ranch headquarters and the sprawling rock-and-wood home that Electra built in 1910. Joe Roberson showed me how to read the books. In May, Judge Neely heard the motion for partial summary judgment and made his ruling. There are several other large ponds, as well as hundreds of livestock ponds scattered throughout the property. 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. As the frontier pushed westward, he expanded his herd and bought more land, in Clay and Wichita counties. Electra died in 1925 at the age of 43, her life and much of her fortune spent on extravagance. Waggoner first settled his wife and son, William Thomas (Tom) Waggoner,qv in a home on Catlett Creek near the site of present Decatur. Waggoner Ranch, the 800-square-mile plot of land in North Texas, is really big. Add to cart. Showdown at Waggoner Ranch - Texas Monthly [6], In 1991, Electra Waggoner Biggs sued to be able to sell the ranch. He served as trustee, and his three children, Guy Waggoner, Electra Waggoner Wharton, and E. Paul Waggoner comprised the Board of Directors. The Running W is the brand for the King Ranch located in south Texas close to Kingsville, Tx. Reply Anonymous February 3, 2013 at 8:00 PM As their cattle business grew, the ranch needed more grazing land, especially as barbed wire began to close in the open range. Waggoner raised Quarter Horses on the ranch, including Poco Bueno, who was buried on the ranch. Shareholders of the ranch reside at these two divisions. 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. This huge block of farmland is crossfenced into large manageable fields which are suitable for grazing thousands of head of wheat pasture cattle. 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With the trust on the verge of expiring, Bucky and Electra II agreed to extend it until March 31, 2003. You have no voice here and you never will.. Waggoner biographer Roze McCoy Porter writes that Electra spent $90,000 remodeling the one-year-old mansion and another $55,000 on draperies. 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. Some of the wells discovered in the 1920s are still in operation. One side wants the ranch divided equally but otherwise left intact. The Waggoner Ranch owns all of the land surrounding and under these lakes, but the water itself is used for off-site municipal water purposes. The Waggoner Ranchis a historic north Texasranch located 13 miles south of Vernon, Texas. The land was used primarily to raise crops, beef cattle and horses as well as for oil production. Sign up to receive timely, useful information in your inbox. So it was the King Ranch whose legend was set down for posterity by the distinguished Texas author Tom Lea, while the Waggoners escapades were left to be recorded by the English author John Bainbridgea few passages in his 1960 book called The Super-Americans, about the excesses of Texass oil millionaires. 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. We farm approximately 25,000 that we use to graze cattle and raise crops for sale and internal use. They ride the trails of their forebearers, living a life and practicing skills that have almost disappeared. 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. On each of those transactions, Kroenke had relied on Leadbetter's counsel and the insights of Sam Connolly, general manager of Kroenke Ranches. 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. As the sun begins to crawl over the horizon, Hawley marvels at the endless prairie. They include a bunkhouse for single cowboys, more homes for the foreman and senior cowboys, a cookhouse, several maintenance sheds, and a truck barn. Ranching operations began with 230 head of longhorn cattle and some horses. I didnt ask for the nuts and bolts, he said and walked away. As Parker biographer Bill Neeley has noted, ethics and morality played no part of this business arrangement. Today, it is estimated there are over 1,000 producing oil wells on the Waggoner Ranch, with the W.T. The main headquarters at the Waggoner Ranch has municipal-quality water from Vernon. After the first freeze, 120,000 geese will land on Santa Rosa Lake and feast on winter wheat fields. W. T. Waggoner Ranch is located 13 miles south of Vernon, Texas with office headquarters in Vernon. Another number brand is placed on the left hip to denote the year. The squabbling that has ensnared the ranch for almost a century began on Christmas Day of. Meanwhile, the Waggoner family tree was sprouting more branches. Things were working smoothly at that moment, but neither side believed the harmony would last. The W.T. As Smith put it, They were a beer-and-champagne twosome.. The Willingham house is a low, ranch-style brick structure, set behind a wall of trees. Thats where Electra Waggoner Biggs lived and where she kept her studio, Hughes tells me. 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. [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. 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. The major block of this farmland, which is located on the northwest side of the ranch, contains approximately 14,000 acres. 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". At one dinner party, two Texans pulled six-guns from their dinner jackets and shot up the ceiling. List of supermarket chains in the United States - Wikipedia The W.T. But by the 1920s, with the advent of the automobile, W.T.s attitude about oil had changed. All during the spring and summer of 2003, they talked of little else. 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. Our horses are American Quarter Horses and we raise them for our use on the ranch. Choose from multiple print sizes and hundreds of frame and mat options. Sachueista Gate - WT Waggoner Estate Ranch - Vernon, Texas So what does it all mean? 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. All canvas prints are professionally printed, assembled, and shipped within 3 - 4 business days and delivered ready-to-hang on your wall. John and Electra had two daughtersa third Electra and Helen. 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. Biggs second in command was comptroller Killen Moore, a onetime Internal Revenue Service agent. When they presented the map to Gene, they say, he asked for more details. He offered him pennies on the dollar for his fifty percent share., It was a paltry amount, Roberson agreed. [3] It spans six counties[3][6] and is half as large as Rhode Island. B. Wharton III, known as Bucky. The 1905 hunt was a classic Waggoner production. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Vista Caliente - Signed Print by Woodrow M. Blagg - Cowboys - Waggoner Ranch at the best online prices at eBay! S. Middleton & Son in Lubbock are honored to announce the exclusive offering of the historic W.T. Each camp is equipped with a managers house, outbuildings and pens. The Waggoner Ranch was established in 1849 by Dan Waggoner. Since his retirement, in 1991, Proctor has lived in Vernon, raising a few cows and tending his yard. Stretching across six North Texas counties, the Waggoner Ranch is considered to be extremely well located. I worked a couple of weeks gauging wells. Some say these deer may have never heard a rifle shot. 20% off all products! Jos R. Ralat is Texas Monthlys taco editor, writing about tacos and Mexican food. In the late eighties, as the oil revenue began to peter out, the new trustee of the Waggoner estate, Charles Prather, resigned. Waggoner Estate operating approximately 150 of these wells and 40 independent operators operating the balance. A unified decision has now been made by the shareholders to sell this legendary ranch. 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. The gifts were not entirely altruistic. Find a huge selection of trailers from DooLittle and SureTrac in MO. [6] Meanwhile, Electra Waggoner Biggs became a renowned sculptor. Subscribe Contact Us We love our customers, so feel free to visit during normal business hours. The Reversed 3Ds is still used as a symbol representing the historic Waggoner Ranch. 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. 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. Ranch Manager. King Ranch. San Antonio Luxury Resort - The Villas at La Cantera Though its a nicer house, the Willinghams have never moved up there. (Waggoner) hit oil instead. Other areas show substantial regrowth, and those areas of the ranch with a dense canopy of mesquite offer exceptional protection for wildlife. The house eventually fell apart and was torn down. PRIMARY USE cow-calf, feed yard, farming, horses, oil and gas, wild game hunting, birding . Some of these were bred strictly for ranch work, and others for the show arena, but they all had one thing in common, they were cow horses., Poco Bueno was foaled in 1944 and was purchased by E. Paul Waggoner in 1945. $ 58.00. The ranch originally operated under the name of Dan Waggoner & Son. The Waggoner is one of the 20 largest cattle ranches in the U.S. and is known worldwide for its quarter horses. 1700 Deaf Smith St., Vernon, TX 76384, US. Nearby Vernon, which serves as the famed headquarters for the ranch operations office complex, receives an average of 28 inches per year. 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. 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. How could things have spun so wildly out of control? 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. Even when he was a young lad of 14, W.T. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Didnt any of them have to work or suffer to get it. They cant wait to get started. Waggoner Ranch, among US' largest, listed for sale - Chron The Waggoner Ranch Reversed D Brand is burned on the right hip of calves, and dates back to June 11, 1849. Both families are already fabulously wealthy, though the wealth is in the land rather than their pockets. When my wife got sick with cancer, Gene and Buck got the company plane to fly her to M. D. Anderson. G. [9] One of the lakes on the ranch provides water for the City of Wichita Falls. Leave them blank to get signed up. 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..