waggoner ranch brand

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Three pivot sprinkler systems are used to distribute irrigation water to three large fields on the ranch. In a January 2003 deposition, Gene said he sent Bucky his own draft of the map but never got a reply. My dockets not that crowded, he said. By the turn of the century, settlers were overrunning Indian reservations, and the open range was all but gone. 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. 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. Electra prevailed, as usual. After the first freeze, 120,000 geese will land on Santa Rosa Lake and feast on winter wheat fields. 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". In 1965 he replaced Tony Hazelwood as foreman. Jos R. Ralat is Texas Monthlys taco editor, writing about tacos and Mexican food. The Waggoner Ranch can be characterized as a potential sportsmans paradise. Heath Ownbey. Quality horses are always the pride of a true rancher, and this original set of broodmares became a huge influence in the development of the Quarter Horse breed. King Ranch. G. 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. The Waggoner Ranch is a historic north Texas ranch located 13 miles south of Vernon, Texas. 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. The W.T. [6] Meanwhile, Electra Waggoner Biggs became a renowned sculptor. Cowboys worry that the feud will destroy the ranch. Its been vacant ever since. Some people believe that she would never have permitted the sale of the Waggoner Ranch. The Waggoner Ranch has been very well managed over time, and considering the recent four-year drought, the worst in recorded history, the ranch supports an overall good turf of native grasses. W. T. Waggoner Ranch is located 13 miles south of Vernon, Texas with office headquarters in Vernon. The Texanist: Why Dont Texas Houses Have Basements? 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. Add to cart. In 1879, the Waggoners foiled rustlers by changing their brand from the D-71 to the now-legendary three reverse Ds. [8], After the death of Daniel Waggoner in 1902, his son W.T. Even when he was a young lad of 14, W.T. The land was used primarily to raise crops, beef cattleand horsesas well as for oil production. While drilling for water, W.T. We see a bunch of javelinas too, and a bobcat as big as a mountain lion. We opened it up. Today the home is bright and welcoming. Waggoner had built a great ranch, but in 1909 he was 57 years old and thinking about its future. The Willingham house is a low, ranch-style brick structure, set behind a wall of trees. You have no voice here and you never will.. Bucky Wharton didnt think of the ranch as his heritage until he was in high school at Culver Military Academy, in Indiana. 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. Choose from multiple print sizes, border colors, and canvas materials. Cowboys ambling from the bunkhouse to the cookhouse for their five-thirty breakfast see her loping across pastures, dodging bulls and pump jacks. We invite you to browse through our store and shop with confidence. 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. According to a 2005 article in The Western Horseman Magazine, But another event in 1902 had a lasting impact on the Waggoner Ranch. Waggoner Ranch is now officially, for the first time ever in its history, offered for sale on the international marketplace. At one dinner party, two Texans pulled six-guns from their dinner jackets and shot up the ceiling. 510,527.00 Bernard Uechtritz of Briggs-Freeman Sothebys International Realty in Dallas, and Sam Middleton, of Chas. [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. [10], By 1909, W.T. The Waggoner Ranch Reversed D Brand is burned on the right hip of calves, and dates back to June 11, 1849. Can College Sports Get More Absurd Than SMU Joining the Pac-12? We have unique items that feature our brand. The property is divided into approximately 16 camp or division units. They seldom speak and hardly ever socialize. 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. Sold! Texas's legendary Waggoner ranch bought by Arsenal owner Stan [11] Buster raised polo ponies and established the El Ranchio Polo Club on the ranch. Vista Caliente - Signed Print by Woodrow M. Blagg - Cowboys - Waggoner In his entire life, he never drew a paycheck from anyone but the Waggoners. He began buying land in western Wise County in 1870. 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. Historically, the Waggoner Ranch has been operated as a cow/calf ranching unit, with stocker cattle used for seasonal grazing on wheat fields. 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. Some area ranches have rural water systems available, but still principally rely on creeks and ponds as their major water source. The family feud began the moment the old man rigged the game. When my wife got sick with cancer, Gene and Buck got the company plane to fly her to M. D. Anderson. Beaver Creek feeds Santa Rosa Lake, and the Wichita River feeds Lake Kemp and Lake Diversion. He borrowed a large sum from his nonagenarian grandmother, Ella, who later transferred the note to E. Paul. Bucky wanted the ranch to be divided, not liquidated. The summer after his discharge, in 1970, Bucky decided it was time to move to the ranch and begin his real education. Cattle - W. T. Waggoner Ranch Both ranches once covered more than a million acres. 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. Cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch - Photography Book by Jeremy Enlow The ranch originally operated under the name of Dan Waggoner & Son. Shortly after leaving, he got his draft notice, at the height of the Vietnam War. The assets of the estate have been estimated at $200 to $300 million, but it would surely fetch far less if liquidated. Making Texas history: Legendary Waggoner Ranch sells to Rams owner The house sits on high ground, mostly hidden by oak and pecan trees and a fieldstone wall. 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. The second Electra was, like her namesake, a globe-hopping socialite (she was once linked romantically to Cary Grant by Hollywood gossip columnist Louella Parsons), but she also was an acclaimed artist, who knew all the celebrities of her day and sculpted busts of many of them. In May, Judge Neely heard the motion for partial summary judgment and made his ruling. 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. 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.. Main interests of the company are ranching, oil, and approximately 26,000 acres in cultivation. Recently, new ownership has brought substantial investment in both equipment and design. 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. But W.T. 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.. [4] It was acquired by Stan Kroenke, who is married to Ann Walton (niece of Sam Walton), in February 2016. What must be going through his mind? But the Willinghams arent talkingabout the lawsuit or anything else. Fort Worth-based Jeremy Enlow was given exclusive access to the cowboys behind the prestigious reversed triple D brand of the Waggoner Ranch, the largest ranch in the United States under one fence. 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. Whats Up With All the Kangaroos on the Loose in Texas? I tried college in Vernon for a little while, but it wasnt for me. Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pats Pick, for Texas Monthly. 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. As the sun begins to crawl over the horizon, Hawley marvels at the endless prairie. As Smith put it, They were a beer-and-champagne twosome.. Shareholders of the ranch reside at these two divisions. We try not to put stress on the livestock.. The W. T. Waggoner Estate is the nation's largest ranch under one fence. Its second only to the King Ranch in size, and second to none in its history of drink, divorce, and dissension. Oil was a nuisance, and any good cattleman knew the value of water. The settlers, most of them German or Czech, moved north of Paradise Creek, which runs just beyond the present northern boundary of the ranch. It is as much a part of the legacy as horses, cattle, oil, opulent mansions, divorces, and drunken sprees. Disgusted, he continued drilling for water. [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. Moore astonished Bucky by trying to buy his stock in the estate. Numerous smaller cultivated fields are scattered throughout the ranch. Now he lives in the bunkhouse. He was the first quarter horse ever to be insured for $100,000. As previously noted, this massive holding spans six North Texas counties. 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. 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. This rare phenomenon. All canvas prints are professionally printed, assembled, and shipped within 3 - 4 business days and delivered ready-to-hang on your wall. I remember my mother taking me to Fort Worth to talk to her attorney. Ahead was a legal battle over whether Buster had the right to dispose of property that Electra, his mother, had left in trust to him and his bloodline. The majority of the ranch is in native pasture, supporting a mixed variety of palatable native grasses. 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. Several small on-site water wells are also located in this large block of farmland. Neither of her parents came to the wedding; biographer Porter reports that E. Paul and Helen were having marital problems. This is your chance to purchase the W.T. [9] In 1902, W.T. They plied him with extravagant gifts: engraved pearl-handled revolvers, diamond stick pins, junkets to Fort Worth, Dallas, and Washington, D.C. Guy had a weakness for the ladies; he once skipped town with the lead actress from a traveling burlesque show. Today, the W. T. Waggoner Ranch is managed by Sam Connolly of Bozeman. 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. 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. [7] Parts of it can be seen from highways U.S. 183 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. This treated water is used for human consumption to serve the substantial headquarter improvements. I worked for six months with various people in the oil and the ranching divisions, he told me. 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. When they supplied them, he fumed. 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. My first job was walkin hotscooling down winded horsesbetween chuckers. [6] However, in 1923, he changed his mind, and set up a Massachusetts trust. Bucky wanted to make it clear that he believed the situation was untenable. [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. Its now the home of Electras grandson, Bucky Wharton, his wife, Joline, and their two children. 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. I cant sit down, never could, he tells me. Meanwhile, the Waggoner family tree was sprouting more branches. Moreover, a sale would be taxed and so would the distribution of the money. In the late sixties Bucky attended the University of the Americas, in Mexico City. Daniel Vaughn is the countrys first barbecue editor, and he has eaten more barbecue than you have. Some of the wells discovered in the 1920s are still in operation. Thats the case that has been snaking through Judge Tom Neelys Forty-sixth District Court, in Wilbarger County, for these past twelve years. The W.T. [6] Thirty cowboys, and about 120 people overall, are employed on the property. [9], In August 2014, the ranch was listed on the real estate market with an asking price of US$725 million. The 1905 hunt was a classic Waggoner production. 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. Waggoner Estate operating approximately 150 of these wells and 40 independent operators operating the balance. 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. American Made Cap Company and 283. [5], The ranch is located west of Wichita Falls, Texas, south of Vernon, near the Red River. The farmers probably didnt need intimidating. All during the spring and summer of 2003, they talked of little else. Thats the only reason anyone would want to sell.. So what does it all mean? Consequently, climate data can vary over such a large area of the state. Most sets of pens are capable of handling several thousand head of cattle at one time. But we are so far from the lights of townany townthat half an hour before daylight its still pitch black. Sachueista Gate - WT Waggoner Estate Ranch - Vernon, Texas In later years, W.T. W.T. On the other three sides are a number of buildings constructed of identical reddish-brown stone, quarried on the eastern part of the ranch. | Dan sent Tom (his son), who was only 16 years old at the time, to Kansas City with a herd of 5,000 steers. [13] He once played there with polo champion Cecil Smith. But by the 1920s, with the advent of the automobile, W.T.s attitude about oil had changed. San Antonio Luxury Resort - The Villas at La Cantera Perhaps they are afraid of ghosts. (Tom) Waggoner was heard to say, There I was with more t, han 5,000 big, wild steers, 50 sore-backed horses, $12 and 16 years of my life.. Waggoner Ranch - Wikipedia The only thing I can figure, it was give to them. She finally pulled up in front of the Vernon drugstore, pieces of gate and fence hanging off the car, Bucky tells me. If you fill out the first name, last name, or agree to terms fields, you will NOT be added to the newsletter list. A drought in the last part of the nineteenth century made the land where the Waggoner Ranch now sits nearly useless for growing crops. 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. Texas History: What's your opinion?: Cattle Brands - Blogger The operation can breed outside mares as well as ship cooled or frozen semen. As it turned out, he didnt. declared a misdeal and had them draw again. For several years there were no further attempts to settle. Apparently they just agreed to continue to disagree. ACRES 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. Find a huge selection of trailers from DooLittle and SureTrac in MO. [6][12], When Guy Waggoner died in 1950, his sons sold their share of the estate to members of the family. W T Waggoner Ranch Brand Honoring Waggoner Ranch Family and Owners Canvas Print by Richard W Linford. Both families are already fabulously wealthy, though the wealth is in the land rather than their pockets. The current inventory of studs, mares, geldings and colts is approximately 474 head. With the trust on the verge of expiring, Bucky and Electra II agreed to extend it until March 31, 2003. 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. W. T. Waggoner Ranch is located 13 miles south of Vernon, Texas with office headquarters in Vernon. The sale of the iconic Waggoner Ranch, while marking the end of one era, creates for a new owner the opportunity to begin another. Bucky and Gene and their lawyers were there. Buckys pride in this place was unmistakable. They wintered the herd that year in Clay County and the following spring drove it to market, netting a profit of $55,000. In the lower draws and creek bottoms, hackberry and soapberry trees are common. The Waggoner is one of the 20 largest cattle ranches in the U.S. and is known worldwide for its quarter horses. Gene is, by all accounts, gregarious and outgoing, a typical good ol boy who enjoys playing dominoes at the country club. A granite tombstone, set in the center of a small, neatly trimmed pasture, marks the grave of the greatest cutting horse of all time. 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. But Wait, There's More A smattering of the more than 4,000 items listed on the. asked his children to draw cards for the three parcels. It would be Helens husband, Gene Willingham, who would one day become Bucky Whartons main opponent in the struggle over the Waggoner Ranch. Behind his back, other employees referred to Moore as Rasputin. Our horses are American Quarter Horses and we raise them for our use on the ranch. Or you draw a line and Ill take first pick.. When they presented the map to Gene, they say, he asked for more details. Cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch - Cowboys of Waggoner Ranch They cant wait to get started. In early 1963 Buster filed a lawsuit, seeking a dispensation to sell shares, but he died before the matter was litigated. A granite marker, weighing four tons, notes his grave site. W.T. When full, Lake Kemp covers an area of over 16,540 surface acres and Lake Diversion covers approximately 3,420 surface acres. Many carry the bloodline of Poco Bueno. A full moon hangs over West Diving Board Pasture. Now 56, Bucky is one of the protagonists in the battle over the future of the ranch. It doesnt seem real to even think about it, he says. Not a shred, she told me. 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 family made their main homes in the city and returned to the ranch for weekend getaways and holidays. The Running W is the brand for the King Ranch located in south Texas close to Kingsville, Tx. W.T.s granddaughter, Electra Waggoner Biggs was nationally known as a sculptress, and with her national notoriety, General Motors named their most luxurious Buick model the Electra and Lockheed Aircraft named a plane in her honor. 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. 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. 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. It may be many years before a similar ranch of this magnitude becomes available, if ever. Even the water in Beaver Creek was reda sign, Bucky said, that it was fresh and contained no gypsum. These cows are bred to Hereford, Angus, and Charolais bulls. HOUCHRON CAPTION (07/27/2003): A calf is branded on the ranch in 1983. At midnight, March 31, 2003, the clock ran out on the W. T. Waggoner trust. Today, it is estimated there are over 1,000 producing oil wells on the Waggoner Ranch, with the W.T. Its a trade that suits only a select few for whom the life satisfies rather than restricts. Cowboying isnt a profession, its a life, but if the Waggoner Ranch is broken up into pieces, that life will exist no more. The other wants to sell the ranch and divide the assets. Vernon, the county seat of Wilbarger County, is located approximately 12 miles due north of the ranch. "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. [14] Her second cousin, Albert Buckman Wharton III, also known as Bucky Wharton, who was Buster Wharton's son, appealed to stop the liquidation. But selling the ranchor, worse still, permitting the court to liquidate itwould cost both sides dearly in taxes and prestige. In one, he wished Electra happy birthday and said, I bought you a $2,500 bond.. Guy, who eventually settled on another ranch the family owned in New Mexico, married eight times. had said, I want to run the most cattle, breed the best horses and work harder than anyone. When he was 17, his dad made him a full partner. The King Ranch, based in south Texas, has more acreage spread over several parcels. There are none to be seen, because there is not a drop of groundwater. As previously noted, this massive holding spans six North Texas counties. Forrest Wilder writes about politics and the outdoors. 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. Houses back then were very dark, with low ceilings and small windows. E. Paul was a dapper, dashing Hollywood-style cowboy, with a mustache and mischievous eyes. The United States Department of Agriculture, as part of a conservation project, had surveyed every foot of ground on the ranch, and Roberson fed this information into a database. A municipal waterline from nearby Seymour serves some of the homes located at Lake Kemp. 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.

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