The Waggoner Ranch is a historic ranch in northwest Texas. Its main uses include crops, cattle raising, horse breeding, and oil extraction. It is the largest ranch under one fence in the United States.[1]
Contents
Location
The ranch is located west of Wichita Falls, Texas, south of Vernon, near the Red River.[2] Other towns nearby include Electra and Seymour.[2] It spans 520,000 acres of land.[2] As a result, it is the second largest ranch in Texas after the King Ranch.[2] It is half as large as Rhode Island.[3] It spans six counties.[2] Part of it can be seen from U.S. 183/283.[2]
History
The ranch was first established by Daniel Waggoner and his son, William Thomas Waggoner.[4] From 1889 to 1903, they acquired land in Wichita County, Wilbarger County as well as Foard County, Knox County, Baylor County and Archer County.[4] The ranch spanned more than a million acres of land.[4]
When Daniel Waggoner died in 1902, his son W.T. Waggoner expanded it.[4] By 1903, he sold some of the land near China Creek to developers.[4] Although it still spans six counties, it is primarily centered around Wichita County and Wilbarger County.[4] W.T. Waggoner raised Quarter Horses on the ranch, including Poco Bueno, who was buried on the ranch.[5] In 1902, W.T. Waggoner found oil while drilling for water.[6]
By 1909, W.T. Waggoner divided the Waggoner Ranch into four subsections: one for himself (White Face); and three smaller 8,500 sub-ranches for his children: Zacaweista, Four Corners, and Santa Ros.[2] However, in 1923, he changed his mind, and set up a Massachusetts trust.[2] His children would elect a Board of Trustees, who would make decisions with him at the helm.[2]
After W.T. 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.[2] 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.[2][7] E. Paul Waggoner raised Quarter Horses on the ranch.[2] Electra Waggoner mostly resided at Thistle Hill in Fort Worth, although her husband, Albert Buck Wharton, operated a livery and horse stables on the ranch.[2][8]
When Guy Waggoner died in 1950, his sons sold their share of the estate to members of the family.[2] 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.[7] Buster raised polo ponies and established the El Ranchio Polo Club on the ranch.[9] He once played there with polo champion Cecil Smith.[2] Meanwhile, Electra Waggoner Biggs became a renowned sculptor.[2]
In 1991, Electra Waggoner Biggs sued to be able to sell the ranch.[10] Her second cousin, Albert Buckman Wharton III, also known as Bucky Wharton, who was Buster Wharton's son, appealed to stop the liquidation.[10] After Electra Waggoner Biggs's death, her share was inherited by Electra Waggoner Biggs's daughter Helen Biggs and her husband, Gene Willingham.[7]
The ranch has been surveyed by the United States Department of Agriculture for matters of preservation.[2] Thirty cowboys, and about 120 people overall, are employed on the property.[2] It has about 14,000 cows and bulls as well as 500 horses.[5] It also includes 30,000 acres of arable land and about 1,100 producing oil wells.[5] One of the lakes on the ranch provides water for the City of Wichita Falls.[5]
The ranch was listed on the real estate market in August 2014.[10][11]
References
- ^ American Quarter Horse Association: Waggoner Ranch
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Gary Cartwright, Showdown at Waggoner Ranch, Texas Monthly, January 2004
- ^ Mike Cochran,Legendary Waggoner Ranch Historical Combination of Then and Now, Schenectady Gazette, December 22, 1984
- ^ a b c d e f H. Allen Anderson, "WAGGONER RANCH," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/apw01), accessed November 12, 2014. Uploaded on June 15, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
- ^ a b c d Joe Holley, Massive Waggoner Ranch, "last of the True West," is up for grabs, The Houston Chronicle, September 12, 2014
- ^ The Waggoner Ranch, Western Horseman
- ^ a b c Evan Moore, Mammoth estate to be split up, auctioned, The Houston Chronicle, July 27, 2003
- ^ Historic Fort Worth: Thistle Hill
- ^ Horace A. Laffaye, Polo in the United States: A History, Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2011, p. 144 [1]
- ^ a b c Emily Schmall, Waggoner Ranch, among US' largest, listed for sale, The Houston Chronicle, August 8, 2014
- ^ Kris Hudson, Ranch Dressing: Brokers Prep Giant Waggoner Farm for Sale, The Wall Street Journal, August 12, 2014