Its now the home of Electras grandson, Bucky Wharton, his wife, Joline, and their two children. [6][11] E. Paul Waggoner raised Quarter Horses on the ranch. 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. The Waggoner Ranch Reversed D Brand is burned on the right hip of calves, and dates back to June 11, 1849. To sum up the great legacy of the Waggoner Horse Program, it has produced three AQHA Hall of Fame Members (one Waggoner heir and two Waggoner horses): E. Paul Waggoner, Poco Bueno and Poco Lena; it is the number one All-Time Leading Breeder of NCHA Hall of Fame Members, Poco Lena, Poco Mona, Poco Stampede and Snipper W; it is the number three All-Time Breeder of AQHA Champions; and it is the Breeder of All-Time Leading Sires, Poco Pine, Poco Tivio, Poco Dell and Poco Bob. Waggoner Estate Ranch. Thats how it was reported in nearly every newspaper in Texas, including the Dallas Morning News, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and the Houston Chronicle. Hawley has a cell phone handy, and the ranch radio under the dash crackles with voices from isolated posts miles away. Our ranching operation includes, cattle, horses and the farm. Some people dont see it, but shes beautiful. 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. Some say these deer may have never heard a rifle shot. Poco Bueno died in 1969 and was buried in a standing position in front of the main ranch entrance. $720,000,000 . And so they were, for a hundred years and more. 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. After Guy died, E. Paul and Buster faced the issue of what would become of his shares in the Waggoner estate. 510,527.00 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. This huge block of farmland is crossfenced into large manageable fields which are suitable for grazing thousands of head of wheat pasture cattle. And You Thought Feral Hogs Were Bad. 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. [5], The ranch is located west of Wichita Falls, Texas, south of Vernon, near the Red River. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Inside the Decades-long Effort to Commemorate a Notorious Waco Lynching. . Ranch Manager. Bucky wanted to make it clear that he believed the situation was untenable. I cant sit down, never could, he tells me. In the lower draws and creek bottoms, hackberry and soapberry trees are common. Another formula was used to calculate mineral rights, pipelines, cattle, horses, equipment, other assets. | 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. What does it take to be a good cowboy? I ask. Either way, your shopping cart will be active until you leave the store. It was notable for being the largest ranch within one fence in the United States. Some people believe that she would never have permitted the sale of the Waggoner Ranch. By the 1880s, the Waggoners Victorian mansion, El Castile, was the most prominent structure in Decatur. 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. Since Electra IIs death, in 2001, the board has been composed of these two men who rarely speak to each other. After that, negotiations were dead in the water. Gene remembered it differently. Probably the nation's largest single-parcel ranch, the 510,000-acre property is about 175 miles northwest of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and 12 miles south of Vernon, the county seat of. Killen told Bucky, Take this, go back to New Mexico, and live your life. 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. Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pats Pick, for Texas Monthly. According to a 2005 article in The Western Horseman Magazine, But another event in 1902 had a lasting impact on the Waggoner Ranch. When my wife got sick with cancer, Gene and Buck got the company plane to fly her to M. D. Anderson. Numerous large, functional and well designed sets of shipping and working pens are scattered throughout the ranch. Three pivot sprinkler systems are used to distribute irrigation water to three large fields on the ranch. has created a haven for deer, turkey, quail, dove, waterfowl and feral hogs. The operation can breed outside mares as well as ship cooled or frozen semen. They married in 1969. It was in terrible condition, Joline explained as she showed me through their home. | Vernon, the county seat of Wilbarger County, is located approximately 12 miles due north of the ranch. 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. By the turn of the century, settlers were overrunning Indian reservations, and the open range was all but gone. The Willingham house is a low, ranch-style brick structure, set behind a wall of trees. The W.T. In a deposition filed with the court in 2001, Bucky acknowledged: We do not meet face to face, just he and I. To Buckys surprise, the Biggs family responded by filing suit, asking the court to liquidate the estate. Today, the W. T. Waggoner Ranch is managed by Sam Connolly of Bozeman. Thats the only reason anyone would want to sell.. Dan took advantage of this great opportunity. LOCATION Brooks, Jim Wells, Kenedy, Kleberg, Nueces, and Willacy counties. 27 of 56 28 of 56 Cowboys on the Waggoner Ranch brand calves in the spring of 1983. 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. 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. Most sets of pens are capable of handling several thousand head of cattle at one time. Millionaire ranchers from Argentina and the elite of East Coast society came in their private planes for weekends of polo and debauchery. She finally pulled up in front of the Vernon drugstore, pieces of gate and fence hanging off the car, Bucky tells me. After a big wedding in Decatur, the couple honeymooned in Europe and then planned to settle in Philadelphia. [6] However, in 1923, he changed his mind, and set up a Massachusetts trust. Moore astonished Bucky by trying to buy his stock in the estate. 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. Daniel Vaughn is the countrys first barbecue editor, and he has eaten more barbecue than you have. All framed prints are professionally printed, framed, assembled, and shipped within 3 - 4 business days and delivered ready-to-hang on your wall. 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. Can College Sports Get More Absurd Than SMU Joining the Pac-12? Bucky and Gene and their lawyers were there. In later years, W.T. The major block of this farmland, which is located on the northwest side of the ranch, contains approximately 14,000 acres. The house eventually fell apart and was torn down. Leave them blank to get signed up. Reply Anonymous February 3, 2013 at 8:00 PM He was teaching at Will Rogers Elementary School, in Houston, where Helen Biggs was also a teacher. (Waggoner) hit oil instead. In 1869 Dan made seventeen-year-old W.T. They buried him standing up, Hughes informs me. Nothing is too trivial to spark an argument. It was notable for being the largest ranch within one fence in the United States. Buckys pride in this place was unmistakable. . Texas became the 28th state on December 29, 1845, so the Waggoner Ranch is nearly as old as Texas itself. Cowboys worry that the feud will destroy the ranch. Joe Roberson showed me how to read the books. 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. W.T. The summer after his discharge, in 1970, Bucky decided it was time to move to the ranch and begin his real education. Mesquite is the major invader in this part of Texas. Free shipping for many products! Hostile Comanches and Kiowas, plus a few foolhardy nesters trying to scratch out a living, occupied this endless stretch of grassland. 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. 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. He knows the ranch, its cast of characters, and its skeletons and stories as well as any outsider. Guy, who eventually settled on another ranch the family owned in New Mexico, married eight times. In one last attempt to keep the range open, W.T. Hed consult with him and get back to us. Today, it is estimated there are over 1,000 producing oil wells on the Waggoner Ranch, with the W.T. 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. [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. He began buying land in western Wise County in 1870. This was probably a bluff. Things were working smoothly at that moment, but neither side believed the harmony would last. Two years after Prathers resignation, Bucky gave notice of termination of the trust in a letter to Electra IIs family. Fire Ants Have Unleashed Chaos in Texas for Decades. Choose from multiple print sizes and hundreds of frame and mat options. Without a trustee to keep them at arms length, they set off on a collision course. The W. T. Waggoner Estate is seeking a working relationshipwith an industry partner to furtherexplore and develop the ranchlands. They work six and sometimes seven days a week, from daylight until the job is done, often late at night. They gathered information on the value of individual pastures, with the help of foreman Jimmy Lee Smith. Who was going to be responsible for it? If you fill out the first name, last name, or agree to terms fields, you will NOT be added to the newsletter list. There are several other large ponds, as well as hundreds of livestock ponds scattered throughout the property. This historic brand has been used in one form or another since that date, making it one of the very oldest brands in Texas. 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. The horses are bred for working ranch purposes,and many still carry the bloodline of the famous quarter horse, Poco Bueno; Decendants of the Waggoner family sold the ranch to Kroenke-Ranches of Bozeman, MT in 2016. 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. A full moon hangs over West Diving Board Pasture. In early 1963 Buster filed a lawsuit, seeking a dispensation to sell shares, but he died before the matter was litigated. One of the most interesting properties at Zacaweista is the gothic stone barn where Buster Wharton bred his polo ponies. Subscribe Contact Us We love our customers, so feel free to visit during normal business hours. I was there. Moore resigned as trustee in the early eighties, at a critical moment for the estate. The history of the land and the Waggoner family is so entwined with myth and legend that nobody can untangle the truth. Main interests of the company are ranching, oil, and approximately 26,000 acres in cultivation. I got two dollars a match. Cecil Smith, the world-famous ten-goal player, rode with Busters Waggoner Ranch team. 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. As Smith put it, They were a beer-and-champagne twosome.. He offered to pay Buckys attorney fees and pitch in an extra one million. Bucky looks more like a Little League coach than a cattle baron. 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. In addition to land and cattle, the family owned five banks, three cottonseed mills, and a coal company. All during the spring and summer of 2003, they talked of little else. The gifts were not entirely altruistic. The Waggoner Ranch fully supports the AQHA initiative to implement the Ranchers Heritage Breeders Program and the AQHA Versatility Ranch Horse Program with current staff serving as a member of two AQHA Committees. They were super, super people. Nevertheless, Smith resigned in 1997, tired of being caught in the middle of the power struggle. Two of the camp divisions, the Zacaweista and the Santa Rosa, are very highly improved. My first job was walkin hotscooling down winded horsesbetween chuckers. The greatest annual precipitation occurs to the east, in Archer and Wichita Counties, at just over 29 inches per year annually. The last e-mail I got from him, he testified, [was] five years ago.. The 1905 hunt was a classic Waggoner production. 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. Even the water in Beaver Creek was reda sign, Bucky said, that it was fresh and contained no gypsum. Mrs. Biggs called ahead and had the director meet us on the front step. St Louis, Missouri, United States. 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. All-night parties that started at Shadowlawn sometimes ended up on the ranch, after a trip by private railroad car, so that Eastern dandies could be treated to the sights of cowboys branding and castrating calves. Instead of six bedrooms, it now has four. Santa Rosa Lake covers approximately 1,400 surface acres when full. The ranch originally operated under the name of Dan Waggoner & Son. As the frontier pushed westward, he expanded his herd and bought more land, in Clay and Wichita counties. By the late fifties, forces were marshalling to ensure total control for E. Paul and his heirs. At an early age, Dan started building what would become a ranching empire and founded the Waggoner Ranch in 1849. It's one of the largest ranches in the world with 825,00 acres. When it is necessary for them to be in the same room, they let third parties do the talking. 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. WAGGONER RANCH (VILLAS 18-21) Vernon, TX | Founded 1852 Archer, Baylor, Foard, Knox, Witchita, and Wilbarger Counties Established in 1852, the ranch was primarily used to raise crops, Longhorn cattle and horses. Hughes grew up in Vernon and has been hunting and fishing on the ranch since high school. We see a bunch of javelinas too, and a bobcat as big as a mountain lion. Forrest Wilder writes about politics and the outdoors. 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. Gene is, by all accounts, gregarious and outgoing, a typical good ol boy who enjoys playing dominoes at the country club. [14] After Electra Waggoner Biggs's death, her share was inherited by Electra Waggoner Biggs's daughter Helen Biggs and her husband, Gene Willingham. Hes not a large man, but his pleasant and unassuming manner and his quiet, considered confidence give him stature. But by the 1920s, with the advent of the automobile, W.T.s attitude about oil had changed. [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.