The W.T. For more than a century the520,000-acre Waggoner Ranch has been an inseparable part of the culture and fabric of the Red River country west of Wichita Fallsand of Texas itself. Our cattle herd consists of approximately 10,000 mother cows comprised of 60 percent Hereford and 40 percent Angus/Hereford and Brangus/Hereford cross. Inside the Decades-long Effort to Commemorate a Notorious Waco Lynching. The ranch is fenced and crossfenced, with an estimated several thousand miles of ranch roads and ranch fencing. Hes not a large man, but his pleasant and unassuming manner and his quiet, considered confidence give him stature. Both ranches once covered more than a million acres. The two sides have never been able to agree on a replacement. This iconic ranch property has been owned and operated by Waggoner heirs for approximately 165 years. In a deposition filed with the court in 2001, Bucky acknowledged: We do not meet face to face, just he and I. As Smith put it, They were a beer-and-champagne twosome.. 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. Bucky wanted to make it clear that he believed the situation was untenable. discovered oil while trying to drill for water, Hughes tells me. I worked for six months with various people in the oil and the ranching divisions, he told me. 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. King Ranch. 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. Either Guys two children would become their partners or E. Paul and Buster would have to buy them out. In early 1963 Buster filed a lawsuit, seeking a dispensation to sell shares, but he died before the matter was litigated. 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. 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 bidding period on the ranch, going for $725 million, ended Oct. 20 with about six serious potential buyers. On a slight rise behind this house is a much grander two-story Spanish-style villa with a red tile roof, a swimming pool, and a formal garden. The sale of the iconic Waggoner Ranch, while marking the end of one era, creates for a new owner the opportunity to begin another. Thistle Hill, as Electras mansion was called, stands to this day on the crest of Summit Avenue, near downtown. Waggoner left behind in East Texas the grave of his wife. It was notable for being the largest ranch within one fence in the United States. But for how much longer? Forrest Wilder writes about politics and the outdoors. 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. We met in the boardroom at the Waggoner building, Roberson told me. Joe Roberson showed me how to read the books. [13] He once played there with polo champion Cecil Smith. 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. They include a bunkhouse for single cowboys, more homes for the foreman and senior cowboys, a cookhouse, several maintenance sheds, and a truck barn. He secretly wanted his favorite, Electra, to draw Zacaweista, because it was nearest to his homestead. 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. 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. [10], By 1909, W.T. After dinner by the creek, Dan suggested that they all ride into Frederick, Oklahoma, personally setting the pace. As the sun begins to crawl over the horizon, Hawley marvels at the endless prairie. Cowboying isnt a profession, its a life, but if the Waggoner Ranch is broken up into pieces, that life will exist no more. Some of the larger main shipping pens are equipped with hydraulic chutes and scales. Hostile Comanches and Kiowas, plus a few foolhardy nesters trying to scratch out a living, occupied this endless stretch of grassland. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Look out there! The Reversed 3Ds is still used as a symbol representing the historic Waggoner Ranch. [14] After Electra Waggoner Biggs's death, her share was inherited by Electra Waggoner Biggs's daughter Helen Biggs and her husband, Gene Willingham. 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. 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. asked his children to draw cards for the three parcels. . Now the fate of the ranch was up to the court. What he got was just the opposite. Concerned about the future of the ranch, W.T. Approximately 160,000 acres of the 560,000 acres areproven prolific oilproperties. . The family made their main homes in the city and returned to the ranch for weekend getaways and holidays. This is your chance to purchase the W.T. Thats what folks in Vernon, Electra, Seymour, and other towns near the Waggoner Ranch are asking as they watch one of Texass greatest ranching empires teeter on the brink of disintegration. [9], In August 2014, the ranch was listed on the real estate market with an asking price of US$725 million. In later years, W.T. [5], The ranch is located west of Wichita Falls, Texas, south of Vernon, near the Red River. This huge block of farmland is crossfenced into large manageable fields which are suitable for grazing thousands of head of wheat pasture cattle. 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. No Waggoner is buried on the ranch, only this one cowboy and a few early settlers in unmarked graves. 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. 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. I tried college in Vernon for a little while, but it wasnt for me. 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 family feud began the moment the old man rigged the game. 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. 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. The ranch originally operated under the name of Dan Waggoner & Son. cattle inventory, horse inventory, horse facilities, brands . Each camp is equipped with a managers house, outbuildings and pens. The dispute seemed to highlight Bucky and Genes contrasting attitudesone loved the land, the other loved the money. It would be Helens husband, Gene Willingham, who would one day become Bucky Whartons main opponent in the struggle over the Waggoner Ranch. We invite you to browse through our store and shop with confidence. Her best-known work is the statue of Will Rogers on horseback at the entrance to the Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum, in Fort Worth. They communicate by written memos, even though their offices are separated by only a few feet. Sep 1989 - Present33 years 6 months. Our horses are American Quarter Horses and we raise them for our use on the ranch. PRIMARY USE cow-calf, feed yard, farming, horses, oil and gas, wild game hunting, birding . Cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch. 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. They wintered the herd that year in Clay County and the following spring drove it to market, netting a profit of $55,000. Disgusted, he continued drilling for water. The squabbling that has ensnared the ranch for almost a century began on Christmas Day of. Potential buyers include a group of Japanese investors, Ross Perot Jr., Boone Pickens, even the Mormon churchor so go the rumors. Thats the case that has been snaking through Judge Tom Neelys Forty-sixth District Court, in Wilbarger County, for these past twelve years. Dan Waggoner, who was born in Tennessee in 1828, moved to Texas with his family in the mid-1840s. Besides receiving revenue from these house lot leases, the ranch charges a daily use fee for boating and fishing on these lakes and also controls concession rights. This land sits atop the Seymour Aquifer, while the ranch itself is bone-dry. 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. The Bronc-busting, Cow-punching, Death-defying Legend of Boots ONeal, At Texas Swingers Clubs, the Lifestyle Is Booming. Sign up to hear from us about specials, sales, and events. Today, the ranch boasts 7 stallions and over 90 broodmares containing bloodlines of Poco Bueno, High Brow Cat, Peppy San Badger, Top Sail Cody, Smart Chic Olena, and Wimpys Little Step. I ask him what he thinks of the family feud that threatens to end the way of life that he knew. 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. Genes got to drive within fifty feet of Buckys house every morning and again every evening to get to his own place. Dan sent Tom (his son), who was only 16 years old at the time, to Kansas City with a herd of 5,000 steers. Shortly after leaving, he got his draft notice, at the height of the Vietnam War. My dockets not that crowded, he said. They work six and sometimes seven days a week, from daylight until the job is done, often late at night. Or so people say.. hoped that his kids would learn to ranch and develop a sense of responsibility. Now he lives in the bunkhouse. Electra married A.B. We see a bunch of javelinas too, and a bobcat as big as a mountain lion. Neither of her parents came to the wedding; biographer Porter reports that E. Paul and Helen were having marital problems. 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. [6][11] E. Paul Waggoner raised Quarter Horses on the ranch. After Guy died, E. Paul and Buster faced the issue of what would become of his shares in the Waggoner estate. Who was going to be responsible for it? These are the men who made the ranch work while the Waggoners were off in Fort Worth or New York or Europe. 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. But Wait, There's More A smattering of the more than 4,000 items listed on the. 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! 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. But even as board members, they were powerless to exercise any authority over the ranch, except to elect future trustees. Copyright 2023 Waggoner Ranch Store - All Rights Reserved. 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. Recently, new ownership has brought substantial investment in both equipment and design. At midnight, March 31, 2003, the clock ran out on the W. T. Waggoner trust. 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.. [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. [8] By 1903, he sold some of the land near China Creek to developers. All framed prints are professionally printed, framed, assembled, and shipped within 3 - 4 business days and delivered ready-to-hang on your wall. He either didnt care or didnt notice that E. Pauls clanespecially his socialite wife, Helenconsidered Electras line of the family to be tainted and Buster to be an irresponsible spendthrift, and they were plotting for the day when they could force the Whartons out. Waggoner's death, his three children, Guy Waggoner, E. Paul Waggoner and Electra Waggoner each inherited a section of the ranch, although there was still a Board of Trustees. This was a time when much of Texas was open range and unexplored. Other areas show substantial regrowth, and those areas of the ranch with a dense canopy of mesquite offer exceptional protection for wildlife. Three pivot sprinkler systems are used to distribute irrigation water to three large fields on the ranch. No one, it seems, wants to witness the breakup of a mythic Texas ranchexcept the Waggoner heirs. Reply Anonymous February 3, 2013 at 8:00 PM The majority of the cultivated land is farmed on a dryland basis, but three circle pivot systems are used to irrigate a small portion of the farmland. The cowboys are already waiting on horseback just outside the loading pens, cutting up like schoolboys awaiting the bell for recess. 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 the time of acquisition, the ranch comprised 520,527 acres (210,650ha), or 800sqmi (2,100km2) but additional acreage was included in the sale making the total closer to 535,000 acres (217,000ha). 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. 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. Busters card room, on the second floor, which was once walled in leather, now has the original wood exposed. 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. But W.T. The W.T. This is what shes good at, raising cattle. Hawley is 52 and has been at the ranch since 1972, working his way up from cowpuncher to straw boss to headquarters boss and finally to ranch manager. Main interests of the company are ranching, oil, and approximately 26,000 acres in cultivation. We try not to put stress on the livestock.. He served as trustee, and his three children, Guy Waggoner, Electra Waggoner Wharton, and E. Paul Waggoner comprised the Board of Directors. A drought in the last part of the nineteenth century made the land where the Waggoner Ranch now sits nearly useless for growing crops. and fellow cattle baron Burk Burnett sent their pet Indian to Washington, D.C., in 1905 to ride in President Theodore Roosevelts second inaugural paradeand to invite Roosevelt to go wolf hunting on the Big Pasture. declared a misdeal and had them draw again. Heath Ownbey. The ranch's wild steers, huge supply of . 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. At one dinner party, two Texans pulled six-guns from their dinner jackets and shot up the ceiling. One of the most interesting properties at Zacaweista is the gothic stone barn where Buster Wharton bred his polo ponies. Wichita Falls, the county seat of Wichita County, is approximately 20 miles east of the eastern boundary of the ranch. 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.