John and Electra had two daughtersa third Electra and Helen. You get in here far enough, it just swallows you up, Hughes tells me. Nearby Vernon, which serves as the famed headquarters for the ranch operations office complex, receives an average of 28 inches per year. 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. By that time, Ella had died, at the age of one hundred, and her successor as trustee was John Biggs, the son-in-law whom E. Paul had groomed for the job. Enlow is an advertising, media and fine arts photographer based in Fort Worth. Waggoner Ranch cattle have been 60 percent Hereford and 40 percent Angus/Hereford and Brangus/Hereford. The ranch includes thousands of cattle, hundreds of horses and oil wells, and 30,000 acres of. 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. The land was used primarily to raise crops, beef cattleand horsesas well as for oil production. Most other ranches in this general area also rely on creek water and earthen ponds. Very few test wells havepenetrated the remaining 400,000 acres. By the late fifties, forces were marshalling to ensure total control for E. Paul and his heirs. Vernon Regional Airport has a 5,100 foot long runway. When Helens father died, in 1975, they moved to the ranch, where Gene gradually assumed the position of head of the family. The Waggoner Ranch got into oil in a big way, and today oil wells still methodically pump as cattle graze around them.. W.T. We have unique items that feature our brand. 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. How could things have spun so wildly out of control? The history and the legend surrounding the Waggoner Ranch are as big as the ground it covers. The settlers, most of them German or Czech, moved north of Paradise Creek, which runs just beyond the present northern boundary of the ranch. Numerous smaller cultivated fields are scattered throughout the ranch. The W.T. Gene is, by all accounts, gregarious and outgoing, a typical good ol boy who enjoys playing dominoes at the country club. The main set of shipping pens are located along the highway at the Zacaweista Headquarters Division. Busters card room, on the second floor, which was once walled in leather, now has the original wood exposed. 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. It was in terrible condition, Joline explained as she showed me through their home. asked his children to draw cards for the three parcels. How Florence ButtNot Her SonLaunched the H-E-B Empire, More Colorful Texas Sayings Than You Can Shake a Stick At. [6] Other towns nearby include Electra and Seymour. Heath@WaggonerRanch.com I tried college in Vernon for a little while, but it wasnt for me. Legend has it that Electra once blew $1 million in a single day at Neiman Marcus. The three smaller, 85,000-acre parcelsZacaweista, Four Corners, and Santa Rosawere gifts to his three children, Electra, Guy, and E. Paul. The facility is equipped to do embryo transfers and has both indoor and outdoor arenas, two barns, and over 30 stalls. Some people think that the last chance for a settlement died with Electra II. 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. [6] It has about 14,000 cows and bulls as well as 500 horses. Texas Purple Hull Pea Festival Is More Than an Event. Biggs second in command was comptroller Killen Moore, a onetime Internal Revenue Service agent. Quietly and efficiently, Moore began to purge anyone friendly to the Wharton half of the trust: Jim Hughes, who most people had believed would succeed Biggs as trustee; Joe Roberson, the auditor who was being groomed as comptroller; Bill McBroom, the head of the oil division; and Ross Malone, the game warden. Dan sent Tom (his son), who was only 16 years old at the time, to Kansas City with a herd of 5,000 steers. In 1965 he replaced Tony Hazelwood as foreman. Subscribe Contact Us We love our customers, so feel free to visit during normal business hours. After a time everyone seemed in agreement on all except one pointmaintenance of the dam at Santa Rosa Lake. 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. But we are so far from the lights of townany townthat half an hour before daylight its still pitch black. Our horses are American Quarter Horses and we raise them for our use on the ranch. Forrest Wilder writes about politics and the outdoors. Concerned about the future of the ranch, W.T. I got two dollars a match. Cecil Smith, the world-famous ten-goal player, rode with Busters Waggoner Ranch team. He began buying land in western Wise County in 1870. Apparently they just agreed to continue to disagree. But Gene and Helen seem determined to do just that. 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. From the highway, its pastures seem timeless and impregnable. Poco Bueno died in 1969 and was buried in a standing position in front of the main ranch entrance. divided the ranch that he and his dad had founded into four large tracts. In the Roaring Twenties, Electra Waggoner was the most infamous socialite in Texas. An enormous picture window with a panoramic view of the ranch replaced the porthole-size window of 1910. Without a trustee to keep them at arms length, they set off on a collision course. A unified decision has now been made by the shareholders to sell this legendary ranch. 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. 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. The Willingham house is a low, ranch-style brick structure, set behind a wall of trees. Proctor, whose daddy was a Waggoner cowboy too, went to work for the ranch in 1937, at age thirteen. Oil was a nuisance, and any good cattleman knew the value of water. Bernard Uechtritz of Briggs-Freeman Sothebys International Realty in Dallas, and Sam Middleton, of Chas. The squabbling that has ensnared the ranch for almost a century began on Christmas Day of. The property is divided into approximately 16 camp or division units. We met in the boardroom at the Waggoner building, Roberson told me. By contrast, Bucky is reserved, private, and serious about his business affairs. You have no voice here and you never will.. She joined him in the apartment, and they set to work remodeling the Zacaweista mansion, which had sat vacant for nearly a dozen years. [8] By 1903, he sold some of the land near China Creek to developers. He was the first quarter horse ever to be insured for $100,000. While drilling for water, W.T. 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. 940-552-2521 x:270. Houses back then were very dark, with low ceilings and small windows. Hawley has a cell phone handy, and the ranch radio under the dash crackles with voices from isolated posts miles away. Not a shred, she told me. 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. In one, he wished Electra happy birthday and said, I bought you a $2,500 bond.. Even the water in Beaver Creek was reda sign, Bucky said, that it was fresh and contained no gypsum. This is the job I set my sights on, he says. 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. He was teaching at Will Rogers Elementary School, in Houston, where Helen Biggs was also a teacher. This iconic ranch property has been owned and operated by Waggoner heirs for approximately 165 years. In 1869 Dan made seventeen-year-old W.T. Instead of six bedrooms, it now has four. On a Dan Waggonerfinanced trip to Fort Worth, Chief Yellow Bear was asphyxiated and Quanah nearly was when the Indians blew out the gas lamp in their hotel room before retiring. The Waggoner Ranch Store is located in the Waggoner Estate building in Vernon Texas. Northwest Texas was open range in the 1850s, when Dan Waggoner and his fifteen-year-old black slave trailed 242 Longhorn cattle and 6 horses to Wise County. No Waggoner is buried on the ranch, only this one cowboy and a few early settlers in unmarked graves. declared a misdeal and had them draw again. They are already being augmented by Kroenke Ranches' world-class commercial Angus herd. What the hell could he do with oil! I saw them together at a backyard wedding two years ago, but they stayed on opposite sides of the yard, Jim Hughes told me. 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. 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. The Bronc-busting, Cow-punching, Death-defying Legend of Boots ONeal, At Texas Swingers Clubs, the Lifestyle Is Booming. There are several other large ponds, as well as hundreds of livestock ponds scattered throughout the property. (It still is, except for the magnificent Wise County courthouse.) Waggoner raised Quarter Horses on the ranch, including Poco Bueno, who was buried on the ranch. 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". According to a 2005 article in The Western Horseman Magazine, But another event in 1902 had a lasting impact on the Waggoner Ranch. Dan and W.T. When Judge Tom Neely, who is in charge of the current lawsuit to break up the ranch, was a young attorney in a previous round of Waggoner lawsuits during the sixties, he and other lawyers found some of E. Pauls letters to Helen. At Christmas, they exchange giftsby messenger. For several years there were no further attempts to settle. Either way, your shopping cart will be active until you leave the store. Some whitetail deer on the Waggoner Ranch are estimated to be of Boone and Crockett quality. 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. 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. Its now the residence of Gene and Helen Willingham. The only thing I can figure, it was give to them. 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. But for how much longer? 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. In addition to Lake Kemp and Lake Diversion, the ranch boasts several other large private lakes, some of which, such as Santa Rosa Lake, are reserved for the exclusive use of the families. I can remember the Firestones and the Beverages and the cream of New York society flying in for those matches, Don Ross Malone, a Vernon attorney and son of the former game warden for the ranch, told me. 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. Approximately 30,000 acres are in cultivation. It may be hard to truly comprehend the sheer vastness of the Waggoner Ranch. Bucky and Gene run the operation from offices in the W. T. Waggoner Estate Building. W T Waggoner Ranch Brand Honoring Waggoner Ranch Family and Owners Framed Print by Richard W Linford. They gathered information on the value of individual pastures, with the help of foreman Jimmy Lee Smith. Leave them blank to get signed up. The many improvements and related assets mentioned above combine to offer the purchaser an extremely attractive depreciation schedule. 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. Numerous large, functional and well designed sets of shipping and working pens are scattered throughout the ranch. [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. Both ranches once covered more than a million acres. 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. But even as board members, they were powerless to exercise any authority over the ranch, except to elect future trustees. As Smith put it, They were a beer-and-champagne twosome.. Now look at it! [11] Buster raised polo ponies and established the El Ranchio Polo Club on the ranch. When I asked Joline if they had found any memorabilia from Electras time, she laughed. [6], After W.T. And You Thought Feral Hogs Were Bad. 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. Its a constant battle. Over these past three decades, Bucky has absorbed every inch of this ranch and most of its colorful history. I think there were twenty-five or twenty-seven attorneys involved, he recalled. Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pats Pick, for Texas Monthly. They wintered the herd that year in Clay County and the following spring drove it to market, netting a profit of $55,000. Be alert all the time and ready to go, he says in a strong, sure voice. The rich and spoiled siblings nearly squandered the family fortune on wild parties, all-night poker games, trips around the world, and divorce settlements. Its second only to the King Ranch in size, and second to none in its history of drink, divorce, and dissension. The King Ranch, based in south Texas, has more acreage spread over several parcels. It may be many years before a similar ranch of this magnitude becomes available, if ever. 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. Waggoner Ranch with all of its history and be a part of its future unbridled potential. This was a time when much of Texas was open range and unexplored. They work six and sometimes seven days a week, from daylight until the job is done, often late at night. The cowboys are already waiting on horseback just outside the loading pens, cutting up like schoolboys awaiting the bell for recess. [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. Yet the Waggoner Ranch has outlasted its South Texas rival in one respect: It is still under the direct control of its founding family. Horses have always been big business at the Waggoner Ranch. I didnt ask for the nuts and bolts, he said and walked away. 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. That became the seed money for the Waggoner empire. 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. Waggoner Ranch is a working one, with 20 cowboy camps scattered throughout the property to house the more than 120 workers. Traveling to the Four Corners line camp, where Guy Waggoners great home once stood, I tried to imagine that day in the twenties when Anne Burnett Waggoner, the fifth of Guys eight wives, decided shed had enough. They plied him with extravagant gifts: engraved pearl-handled revolvers, diamond stick pins, junkets to Fort Worth, Dallas, and Washington, D.C. An additional 320 acres were then purchased in 1856 near the small town of Decatur, marking the first major expansion of Waggoner's estate. Find a huge selection of trailers from DooLittle and SureTrac in MO. He sits across the table from me in his starched jeans and freshly shined boots, ramrod straight, his hat resting in his lap, his gray hair slicked down. The sale of the iconic Waggoner Ranch, while marking the end of one era, creates for a new owner the opportunity to begin another. A municipal waterline from nearby Seymour serves some of the homes located at Lake Kemp. [13] He once played there with polo champion Cecil Smith. He offered him pennies on the dollar for his fifty percent share., It was a paltry amount, Roberson agreed. 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. A portion of this acreage is seeded to very productive Coastal Bermuda. Bucky looks more like a Little League coach than a cattle baron. 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. Since his retirement, in 1991, Proctor has lived in Vernon, raising a few cows and tending his yard. The summer after his discharge, in 1970, Bucky decided it was time to move to the ranch and begin his real education. Didnt any of them have to work or suffer to get it. W.T. 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. [6] His children would elect a Board of Trustees, who would make decisions with him at the helm. All rights reserved. Both were famous for breeding, the King Ranch for Santa Gertrudis cattle, the Waggoner Ranch for cutting horses. One of the most interesting properties at Zacaweista is the gothic stone barn where Buster Wharton bred his polo ponies. The Waggoner Ranch was established in 1849 by Dan Waggoner. One of the striking sights as you leave the ranch is the sudden appearance of enormous green fields of cotton, wheat, and alfalfa. Guy had a weakness for the ladies; he once skipped town with the lead actress from a traveling burlesque show. 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. 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. Marketing is done through private treaty and production sales. A full moon hangs over West Diving Board Pasture. We opened it up. Today the home is bright and welcoming. Killen told Bucky, Take this, go back to New Mexico, and live your life. 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. HOUCHRON CAPTION (07/27/2003): A calf is branded on the ranch in 1983.
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