Since his retirement, in 1991, Proctor has lived in Vernon, raising a few cows and tending his yard. The Biggest Ranches - Texas Monthly Because of Toms great influence on the horse industry, he became a founding member of the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA). Neither the Willinghams nor the Whartons have the funds to buy the other out. Some people dont see it, but shes beautiful. The W.T. 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. Dan took advantage of this great opportunity. 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. The Wichita River, the two branches of Beaver Creek, countless small streams and tributaries, and dozens of stock tanks supply the ranchs water. Its like watching the death of a huge and magnificent animal: People cant bear to look, yet theyre powerless to turn away. Cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch. 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. Bickering and backstabbing have been a way of life in the family. W.T. Waggoner Estate Ranch | Chas S. Middleton 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. [9] It also includes 30,000 acres of arable land and about 1,100 producing oil wells. Buckys pride in this place was unmistakable. You get in here far enough, it just swallows you up, Hughes tells me. Some of the wells discovered in the 1920s are still in operation. 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. Consequently, climate data can vary over such a large area of the state. E. Paul was a dapper, dashing Hollywood-style cowboy, with a mustache and mischievous eyes. By the late fifties, forces were marshalling to ensure total control for E. Paul and his heirs. These camps range in size from just over 20,000 acres to nearly 40,000 acres each. But for how much longer? In later years, W.T. . It was notable for being the largest ranch within one fence in the United States. All I ever knew is the Waggoner Ranch, he tells me. Its second only to the King Ranch in size, and second to none in its history of drink, divorce, and dissension. There is also a rumor that the Willinghams have already bought a home in Fort Worth. Neither of her parents came to the wedding; biographer Porter reports that E. Paul and Helen were having marital problems. My first job was walkin hotscooling down winded horsesbetween chuckers. A granite marker, weighing four tons, notes his grave site. Waggoner Ranch cowboys like and respect both families and consider them fair and generous. Today, it is estimated there are over 1,000 producing oil wells on the Waggoner Ranch, with the W.T. He went on and on about how heartbroken he was and how much he missed them, but he didnt write them. They built him a grand home on West Cache Creek, the only permanent structure between Fort Sill and the Texas border, and the chief decorated the roof of his Comanche White House with fourteen stars, symbolizing his generalship in battle. As their cattle business grew, the ranch needed more grazing land, especially as barbed wire began to close in the open range. The W. T. Waggoner Estate is seeking a working relationshipwith an industry partner to furtherexplore and develop the ranchlands. 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. It was in terrible condition, Joline explained as she showed me through their home. This treated water is used for human consumption to serve the substantial headquarter improvements. No one, it seems, wants to witness the breakup of a mythic Texas ranchexcept the Waggoner heirs. Or you draw a line and Ill take first pick.. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Texas History: What's your opinion?: Cattle Brands - Blogger FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) One of the largest ranches in the U.S. and an icon for Texas horse and cattlemen has been listed for $725 million, marking the end of a decades-long courtroom battle among. [8] The ranch spanned more than a million acres of land. John and Electra had two daughtersa third Electra and Helen. Dan Waggoner, who was born in Tennessee in 1828, moved to Texas with his family in the mid-1840s. This iconic ranch property has been owned and operated by Waggoner heirs for approximately 165 years. Nearby Vernon, which serves as the famed headquarters for the ranch operations office complex, receives an average of 28 inches per year. Currently, the ranch has a water well lease on a nearby offsite well, which furnishes livestock water through an extensive waterline network to the large block of farmland located on the northwest side of the ranch, and also to the main ranch headquarters. [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. [6] Guy Waggoner lived there with his wife Anne Burnett, the daughter of Samuel Burk Burnett and heiress of the 6666 Ranch from 1922 until their divorce. Biggss brother-in-law was the president of General Motors, and he later named a Buick model for Electra. Bucky and Gene run the operation from offices in the W. T. Waggoner Estate Building. Waggoner acquired more land. 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. In The American Quarter Horse Journal, Jim Jennings writes, The Waggoner contribution to the Quarter Horse industry has long been recognized. Cattle - W. T. Waggoner Ranch Three pivot sprinkler systems are used to distribute irrigation water to three large fields on the ranch. She finally pulled up in front of the Vernon drugstore, pieces of gate and fence hanging off the car, Bucky tells me. W T Waggoner Ranch Brand Honoring Waggoner Ranch Family and Owners Framed Print by Richard W Linford. He began buying land in western Wise County in 1870. Our horses are American Quarter Horses and we raise them for our use on the ranch. Apparently they just agreed to continue to disagree. This is a robust and versatile multi-faceted operation like none other available on the market today. [6] However, in 1923, he changed his mind, and set up a Massachusetts trust. The main headquarters at the Waggoner Ranch has municipal-quality water from Vernon. 510,527.00 Cowboys are a different breed. [6] Other towns nearby include Electra and Seymour. 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. 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. 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. I tried college in Vernon for a little while, but it wasnt for me. Very few test wells havepenetrated the remaining 400,000 acres. S. Middleton & Son in Lubbock are honored to announce the exclusive offering of the historic W.T. When Helens father died, in 1975, they moved to the ranch, where Gene gradually assumed the position of head of the family. I ask him what he thinks of the family feud that threatens to end the way of life that he knew. The current inventory of studs, mares, geldings and colts is approximately 474 head. Dan sent Tom (his son), who was only 16 years old at the time, to Kansas City with a herd of 5,000 steers. Several small on-site water wells are also located in this large block of farmland. All framed prints are professionally printed, framed, assembled, and shipped within 3 - 4 business days and delivered ready-to-hang on your wall. The Waggoner Ranchis a historic north Texasranch located 13 miles south of Vernon, Texas. The farmers probably didnt need intimidating. We met in the boardroom at the Waggoner building, Roberson told me. Then he left the meeting and thats the last we heard. These are the men who made the ranch work while the Waggoners were off in Fort Worth or New York or Europe. 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. Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pats Pick, for Texas Monthly. Vernon, the county seat of Wilbarger County, is located approximately 12 miles due north of the ranch. [7] Parts of it can be seen from highways U.S. 183 Inside the Decades-long Effort to Commemorate a Notorious Waco Lynching. 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. 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. 940-552-2521 x:270. By the 1880s, the Waggoners Victorian mansion, El Castile, was the most prominent structure in Decatur. The house sits on high ground, mostly hidden by oak and pecan trees and a fieldstone wall. 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. As a boy, Bucky visited the ranch at Christmas and during the summer, but he was never close to his father and knew nothing about cattle or oil. 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. W.T. Its now the residence of Gene and Helen Willingham. Waggoner, a widower, and his young son, William Thomas, settled on Catlett Creek, near present-day Decatur. By contrast, Bucky is reserved, private, and serious about his business affairs. 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.
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