The main headquarters at the Waggoner Ranch has municipal-quality water from Vernon. The wooded river and creek courses offer exceptional cover and desirable habitat for native game. It doesnt seem real to even think about it, he says. All canvas prints are professionally printed, assembled, and shipped within 3 - 4 business days and delivered ready-to-hang on your wall. Who was going to be responsible for it? Cowboys are a different breed. Though he wouldnt talk about the lawsuit, he spoke freely about his bewildering transformation from New Mexico schoolboy to co-owner of one of the countrys most famous ranches. 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. 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. What does it take to be a good cowboy? I ask. 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. The Willingham house is a low, ranch-style brick structure, set behind a wall of trees. We invite you to browse through our store and shop with confidence. This iconic ranch property has been owned and operated by Waggoner heirs for approximately 165 years. Choose from multiple print sizes and hundreds of frame and mat options. hoped that his kids would learn to ranch and develop a sense of responsibility. (Tom) Waggoner was heard to say, There I was with more than 5,000 big, wild steers, 50 sore-backed horses, $12 and 16 years of my life., In a 1956 article in The Quarter Horse Journal, Franklin Reynolds notes, It was possibly Tom Waggoners experiences with those sorry horses that caused him to resolve to always have good ones. Waggoner left behind in East Texas the grave of his wife. The gifts were not entirely altruistic. Its a constant battle. Over these past three decades, Bucky has absorbed every inch of this ranch and most of its colorful history. He began buying land in western Wise County in 1870. When Helens father died, in 1975, they moved to the ranch, where Gene gradually assumed the position of head of the family. What must be going through his mind? But the Willinghams arent talkingabout the lawsuit or anything else. A portion of this acreage is seeded to very productive Coastal Bermuda. 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. Genes got to drive within fifty feet of Buckys house every morning and again every evening to get to his own place. Today the ranch consists of approximately 535,000 acres, and is recognized as the largest ranch in Texas under one fence. 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. Weve root-plowed, sprayed, pulled it up with a tractor, dug it up with a backhoe. This is the job I set my sights on, he says. Our ranching operation includes, cattle, horses and the farm. discovered oil while trying to drill for water, Hughes tells me. Other areas show substantial regrowth, and those areas of the ranch with a dense canopy of mesquite offer exceptional protection for wildlife. 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 Waggoner Ranch was established in 1849 by Dan Waggoner. Now look at it! One thing you dont see on the ranch is windmills. A granite marker, weighing four tons, notes his grave site. [6] It has about 14,000 cows and bulls as well as 500 horses. The W.T. After that, negotiations were dead in the water. Gene remembered it differently. Hawley has a cell phone handy, and the ranch radio under the dash crackles with voices from isolated posts miles away. The farmers probably didnt need intimidating. Guy, who eventually settled on another ranch the family owned in New Mexico, married eight times. Patel Brothers - largest Indian American supermarket chain. The Texanist: Why Dont Texas Houses Have Basements? $720,000,000 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. I never saw him on horseback except during a parade. E. Paul was a famous charmer, though his wife, Helen, perhaps saw his romanticism through more practical eyes. By the time he was 27, Tom had full reins of the Waggoner cattle empire.. They married in 1969. At an early age, Dan started building what would become a ranching empire and founded the Waggoner Ranch in 1849. They buried him standing up, Hughes informs me. 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. Now the fate of the ranch was up to the court. W T Waggoner Ranch Brand Honoring Waggoner Ranch Family and Owners Framed Print by Richard W Linford. They chose the latter. But Wait, There's More A smattering of the more than 4,000 items listed on the. 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. We always meet with our employees present, and nothing is really handled. They have quarreled over which wells to cap or abandon, over control of the corporate airplane, over the purchase of bulls and the size of cow herds. In May, Judge Neely heard the motion for partial summary judgment and made his ruling. (Waggoner) hit oil instead. Salt cedar is found along creek and river courses, and cedar is moderate to dense in the rougher, eroded areas of the ranch. It was notable for being the largest ranch within one fence in the United States. Waggoner Ranch is a working one, with 20 cowboy camps scattered throughout the property to house the more than 120 workers. [9] In 1902, W.T. The three smaller, 85,000-acre parcelsZacaweista, Four Corners, and Santa Rosawere gifts to his three children, Electra, Guy, and E. Paul. Enlow is an advertising, media and fine arts photographer based in Fort Worth. Approximately 160,000 acres of the 560,000 acres areproven prolific oilproperties. 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. Leave them blank to get signed up. A drought in the last part of the nineteenth century made the land where the Waggoner Ranch now sits nearly useless for growing crops. In 1879, the Waggoners foiled rustlers by changing their brand from the D-71 to the now-legendary three reverse Ds. Consequently, climate data can vary over such a large area of the state. He was the first quarter horse ever to be insured for $100,000. The W. T. Waggoner Estate is the nation's largest ranch under one fence. Our cattle herd consists of approximately 10,000 mother cows comprised of 60 percent Hereford and 40 percent Angus/Hereford and Brangus/Hereford cross. Its absence symbolizes the fate of the Guy Waggoner clan in the history of the ranch. These live creeks and their tributaries provide a desirable source of livestock water throughout the property. The Waggoner Ranch Store is located in the Waggoner Estate building in Vernon Texas. Lonny Morrison [Genes attorney] said he knew an expert who could advise on that matter. 1700 Deaf Smith St., Vernon, TX 76384, US. The ranch's wild steers, huge supply of . As the large ranches of Texas, such as the Waggoner, 6666, JA, Slaughter, King Ranch and others, were established, fenced and began to operate, these legendary holdings were, at times, confronted with the problems of Indian raids and cattle rustlers. Or so people say.. The 1905 hunt was a classic Waggoner production. asked his children to draw cards for the three parcels. 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. The history and the legend surrounding the Waggoner Ranch are as big as the ground it covers. Didnt any of them have to work or suffer to get it. I ask him what he thinks of the family feud that threatens to end the way of life that he knew. As it turned out, he didnt. Waggoner Ranch is now officially, for the first time ever in its history, offered for sale on the international marketplace. They plied him with extravagant gifts: engraved pearl-handled revolvers, diamond stick pins, junkets to Fort Worth, Dallas, and Washington, D.C. 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. Buckys pride in this place was unmistakable. The dispute seemed to highlight Bucky and Genes contrasting attitudesone loved the land, the other loved the money. He offered him pennies on the dollar for his fifty percent share., It was a paltry amount, Roberson agreed. The other half belonged to Electra Waggoner Biggs, through various trusts. Most other ranches in this general area also rely on creek water and earthen ponds. No one, it seems, wants to witness the breakup of a mythic Texas ranchexcept the Waggoner heirs. 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. But by the 1920s, with the advent of the automobile, W.T.s attitude about oil had changed. 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. 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. In his entire life, he never drew a paycheck from anyone but the Waggoners. I didnt ask for the nuts and bolts, he said and walked away. As previously noted, this massive holding spans six North Texas counties. The last e-mail I got from him, he testified, [was] five years ago.. Wichita Falls, the county seat of Wichita County, is approximately 20 miles east of the eastern boundary of the ranch. Bucky looks more like a Little League coach than a cattle baron. They cant wait to get started. They work six and sometimes seven days a week, from daylight until the job is done, often late at night. 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. Back in town, I am introduced to 79-year-old G. L. Proctor, the old cowboy who Weldon Hawley has modeled himself after. Since his retirement, in 1991, Proctor has lived in Vernon, raising a few cows and tending his yard. Seymour, the county seat of Baylor County, is several miles south of the ranch, and has a runway that is 4,300 feet long. After a time everyone seemed in agreement on all except one pointmaintenance of the dam at Santa Rosa Lake. 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. The greatest annual precipitation occurs to the east, in Archer and Wichita Counties, at just over 29 inches per year annually. Sign up to hear from us about specials, sales, and events. Recently, new ownership has brought substantial investment in both equipment and design. [8] By 1903, he sold some of the land near China Creek to developers. With the trust on the verge of expiring, Bucky and Electra II agreed to extend it until March 31, 2003. For several years there were no further attempts to settle. Behind his back, other employees referred to Moore as Rasputin. 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.. 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. B. Its the Story of Shankleville, One of the States Early Freedom Colonies. Shortly after leaving, he got his draft notice, at the height of the Vietnam War. 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. It would be Helens husband, Gene Willingham, who would one day become Bucky Whartons main opponent in the struggle over the Waggoner Ranch. The Waggoner Ranch was ordered liquidated. By the 1880s, the Waggoners Victorian mansion, El Castile, was the most prominent structure in Decatur. 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. These are the men who made the ranch work while the Waggoners were off in Fort Worth or New York or Europe. The house eventually fell apart and was torn down. 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. Why do they fight on? [3] It spans six counties[3][6] and is half as large as Rhode Island. Electra died in 1925 at the age of 43, her life and much of her fortune spent on extravagance. 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. All I ever knew is the Waggoner Ranch, he tells me. As their cattle business grew, the ranch needed more grazing land, especially as barbed wire began to close in the open range. Add to cart. Its now the residence of Gene and Helen Willingham. One side wants the ranch divided equally but otherwise left intact. Thats the case that has been snaking through Judge Tom Neelys Forty-sixth District Court, in Wilbarger County, for these past twelve years. The horse operation, known as the Whiteface Division, is a state-of-the-art training/breeding facility located in the northeastern portion of the Waggoner 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". The ranchs famous reverse triple-D brand, for example, supposedly got that way when a blacksmith inadvertently read W.T.s hand-drawn design upside down. The settlers, most of them German or Czech, moved north of Paradise Creek, which runs just beyond the present northern boundary of the ranch. At least thats what everyone outside the two families, their lawyers, and the judge believe happened. Historically, the Waggoner Ranch has been operated as a cow/calf ranching unit, with stocker cattle used for seasonal grazing on wheat fields. Some whitetail deer on the Waggoner Ranch are estimated to be of Boone and Crockett quality. The W.T. 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. The cowboys sided with Bucky, who felt that hunters left litter, cut fences, and left gates open. A granite tombstone, set in the center of a small, neatly trimmed pasture, marks the grave of the greatest cutting horse of all time. The land was used primarily to raise crops, beef cattle and horses as well as for oil production. He borrowed a large sum from his nonagenarian grandmother, Ella, who later transferred the note to E. Paul. cattle inventory, horse inventory, horse facilities, brands . PRIMARY USE cow-calf, feed yard, farming, horses, oil and gas, wild game hunting, birding . That became the seed money for the Waggoner empire. Richard King and Captain James Walworth's King Ranch brand was registered June 27, 1859 3. Bucky Wharton didnt think of the ranch as his heritage until he was in high school at Culver Military Academy, in Indiana. All pens are very well maintained. After Buckys father died, Lula [the last of Busters four wives] stripped this place. . 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. Now 56, Bucky is one of the protagonists in the battle over the future of the ranch. Very few test wells havepenetrated the remaining 400,000 acres. 940-552-2521 x:270. An enormous picture window with a panoramic view of the ranch replaced the porthole-size window of 1910. Vernon Regional Airport has a 5,100 foot long runway. Then he left the meeting and thats the last we heard. Guy had a weakness for the ladies; he once skipped town with the lead actress from a traveling burlesque show. Perhaps they are afraid of ghosts. Waggoner Ranch livestock have access to water at both lakes. She hosted parties of celebrities, movie stars, and barons of capitalism, including the daughter of J. P. Morgan. Since Electra IIs death, in 2001, the board has been composed of these two men who rarely speak to each other. [11] Buster raised polo ponies and established the El Ranchio Polo Club on the ranch. Marketing is done through private treaty and production sales. An additional 320 acres were then purchased in 1856 near the small town of Decatur, marking the first major expansion of Waggoner's estate. The W.T. Whats Up With All the Kangaroos on the Loose in Texas? 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. The two sides have never been able to agree on a replacement. 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. As the sun begins to crawl over the horizon, Hawley marvels at the endless prairie. Poco Bueno sired 36 AQHA Champions, and many of his offspring have excelled in all the different disciplines of modern day horse events. W T Waggoner Ranch Brand Honoring Waggoner Ranch Family and Owners Canvas Print by Richard W Linford. (Tom) Waggoner had a good eye for quality horse flesh and developed a herd of broodmares to produce working ranch geldings for his cowboys. Consequently, climate data can vary over such a large area of the state. All together, as one may imagine, with this many contiguous acres, there is an immense variety of land types on the Waggoner. Our horses are American Quarter Horses and we raise them for our use on the ranch. After a big wedding in Decatur, the couple honeymooned in Europe and then planned to settle in Philadelphia. The Municipal Airport at Wichita Falls is served by American Eagle, and the runway is 13,100 feet long. Dan Waggoner passed away in 1903, and his son, W. T. (Tom) Waggoner continued to expand his ranching interests. Bucky wanted the ranch to be divided, not liquidated. SOLD. 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. [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. 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. Thats where Electra Waggoner Biggs lived and where she kept her studio, Hughes tells me. A good cowboy does what the foreman tells him and waits for his paycheck and for the sun to go down., Now the sun is going down on the Waggoner Ranch, perhaps forever. [6], In 1991, Electra Waggoner Biggs sued to be able to sell the ranch. [13] He once played there with polo champion Cecil Smith. 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 Waggoner Ranch is a historic north Texas ranch located 13 miles south of Vernon, Texas. This legendary horse was named the Grand Champion Stallion at Denvers National Western Stock Show, the Fort Worth Southwestern Exposition and Fat Stock Show, the State Fair of Texas in Dallas, and the American Royal Livestock Show in Kansas City. [6][11] E. Paul Waggoner raised Quarter Horses on the ranch. 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. The Waggoner Ranch was established in 1849 by Dan Waggoner. 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. We met in the boardroom at the Waggoner building, Roberson told me. Waggoner Ranch with all of its history and be a part of its future unbridled potential. You have no voice here and you never will.. (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.. 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. The mesquite trees that now dominate the land arrived later, their seeds transported in cow droppings as herds from South Texas passed through on their way to railheads in Kansas. E. Paul was a dapper, dashing Hollywood-style cowboy, with a mustache and mischievous eyes. According to a 2005 article in The Western Horseman Magazine, But another event in 1902 had a lasting impact on the Waggoner Ranch. 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. In the Roaring Twenties, Electra Waggoner was the most infamous socialite in Texas. The sale of the iconic Waggoner Ranch, while marking the end of one era, creates for a new owner the opportunity to begin another. Joe Roberson, who was the estates auditor for many years, describes him this way: Big belt buckle, expensive boots, a bottle of whiskey. E. Paul had a good eye for horseshe bought Poco Bueno, the great cutting horse sireand loved to be seen as the ultimate cattle baron, but a retired Waggoner Ranch foreman named G. L. Proctor told me, He wasnt much of a rider. [14] After Electra Waggoner Biggs's death, her share was inherited by Electra Waggoner Biggs's daughter Helen Biggs and her husband, Gene Willingham. $ 58.00. A unified decision has now been made by the shareholders to sell this legendary ranch. While drilling for water, W.T. Slaughter (Slaughter Ranches), Jim Loving (JA Ranch) and Dan and W.T. W. T. Waggoner Ranch is currently developing hunting opportunities for quail, wild hog and deer. The ranch is fenced and crossfenced, with an estimated several thousand miles of ranch roads and ranch fencing. 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. Dan Waggoner, who was born in Tennessee in 1828, moved to Texas with his family in the mid-1840s. The ranch originally operated under the name of Dan Waggoner & Son. Some of the larger main shipping pens are equipped with hydraulic chutes and scales. Meanwhile, W.T.s widow, Ella, ran the ranch as dowager empress until her death, in 1959.