Waggoner Ranch

W. T. Waggoner Estate[1]
General information
Country United States of America
Construction started 1849[1]
Owner Stan Kroenke
Grounds 510,527 acres

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.[2][3] It was established by Daniel Waggoner and his son William Thomas Waggoner in 1889. It was acquired by Stan Kroenke, a member of the Walton family, in February 2016.[4]

Location

The ranch is located west of Wichita Falls, Texas, south of Vernon, near the Red River.[5] Other towns nearby include Electra and Seymour.[5] It is the second largest ranch in Texas (after the King Ranch),[5] enclosing 510,527 acres (207,000 ha; 798 sq mi; 2,070 km2) of land.[3] It spans six counties[3][5] and is half as large as Rhode Island.[6] Part of it can be seen from U.S. 183/283.[5]

History

The ranch was first established by Daniel Waggoner and his son, William Thomas Waggoner.[7] From 1889 to 1903, they acquired land in Wichita County, Wilbarger County as well as Foard County, Knox County, Baylor County and Archer County.[7] The ranch spanned more than a million acres of land.[7]

When Daniel Waggoner died in 1902, his son W.T. Waggoner expanded it.[7] By 1903, he sold some of the land near China Creek to developers.[7] Although it still spans six counties, it is primarily centered around Wichita County and Wilbarger County.[7] W.T. Waggoner raised Quarter Horses on the ranch, including Poco Bueno, who was buried on the ranch.[8] In 1902, W.T. Waggoner found oil while drilling for water.[9]

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.[5] However, in 1923, he changed his mind, and set up a Massachusetts trust.[5] His children would elect a Board of Trustees, who would make decisions with him at the helm.[5]

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.[5] 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.[5][10] E. Paul Waggoner raised Quarter Horses on the ranch.[5] 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.[5][11]

When Guy Waggoner died in 1950, his sons sold their share of the estate to members of the family.[5] 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.[10] Buster raised polo ponies and established the El Ranchio Polo Club on the ranch.[12] He once played there with polo champion Cecil Smith.[5] Meanwhile, Electra Waggoner Biggs became a renowned sculptor.[5]

In 1991, Electra Waggoner Biggs sued to be able to sell the ranch.[13] Her second cousin, Albert Buckman Wharton III, also known as Bucky Wharton, who was Buster Wharton's son, appealed to stop the liquidation.[13] After Electra Waggoner Biggs's death, her share was inherited by Electra Waggoner Biggs's daughter Helen Biggs and her husband, Gene Willingham.[10]

The ranch has been surveyed by the United States Department of Agriculture for matters of preservation.[5] Thirty cowboys, and about 120 people overall, are employed on the property.[5] It has about 14,000 cows and bulls as well as 500 horses.[8] It also includes 30,000 acres of arable land and about 1,100 producing oil wells.[8] One of the lakes on the ranch provides water for the City of Wichita Falls.[8]

In August 2014, the ranch was listed on the real estate market with an asking price of US$725 million.[3][13][14] It was ultimately sold in February 2016 to billionaire Stan Kroenke, the husband of Wal-Mart heiress Ann Walton Kroenke.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 http://fortune.com/2015/10/29/waggoner-ranch-sale/
  2. ↑ American Quarter Horse Association: Waggoner Ranch
  3. 1 2 3 4 Gruley, Bryan (21 July 2015). "You Can Now Buy a Texas Ranch That's the Size of a Small Nation, For $725 Million". Bloomberg Business. Retrieved 2015-12-26.
  4. 1 2 Gruley, Bryan (February 9, 2016). "NFL Owner Stan Kroenke Buys Texas Mega-Ranch Listed for $725 Million". Bloomberg Business. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Gary Cartwright, Showdown at Waggoner Ranch, Texas Monthly, January 2004
  6. ↑ Mike Cochran,Legendary Waggoner Ranch Historical Combination of Then and Now, Schenectady Gazette, December 22, 1984
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 H. Allen Anderson (June 15, 2010). "Waggoner Ranch". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Archived from the original on 2014-11-29. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Joe Holley, Massive Waggoner Ranch, "last of the True West," is up for grabs, The Houston Chronicle, September 12, 2014
  9. ↑ The Waggoner Ranch, Western Horseman
  10. 1 2 3 Evan Moore, Mammoth estate to be split up, auctioned, The Houston Chronicle, July 27, 2003
  11. ↑ Historic Fort Worth: Thistle Hill
  12. ↑ Horace A. Laffaye, Polo in the United States: A History, Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2011, p. 144
  13. 1 2 3 Emily Schmall, Waggoner Ranch, among US' largest, listed for sale, The Houston Chronicle, August 8, 2014
  14. ↑ Kris Hudson, Ranch Dressing: Brokers Prep Giant Waggoner Farm for Sale, The Wall Street Journal, August 12, 2014

External links

Coordinates: 33°54′N 99°00′W / 33.9°N 99.0°W / 33.9; -99.0

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