Waggoner Ranch

The ranch is located west of Wichita Falls, Texas, south of Vernon, near the Red River.[6] Other towns nearby include Electra and Seymour.[6] It is the second largest ranch in Texas (after the King Ranch),[6] enclosing 510,527 acres (207,000 ha; 798 sq mi; 2,070 km²) of land.[3] It spans six counties[3][6] and is half as large as Rhode Island.[7] Parts of it can be seen from highways U.S. 183 and 283.[6]

The ranch was originally established in 1852 near Vernon, Texas, by Daniel Waggoner under the name of Dan Waggoner & Son; his son being William Thomas Waggoner, who was an infant at the time. Ranching operations began with 230 head of longhorn cattle and some horses.[4][8] From 1889 to 1903, they acquired land in Wichita County, Wilbarger County as well as Foard County, Knox County, Baylor County and Archer County.[8] The ranch spanned more than a million acres of land.[8]

After the death of Daniel Waggoner in 1902, his son W.T. Waggoner acquired more land.[8] By 1903, he sold some of the land near China Creek to developers.[8] Although it still spans six counties, it is primarily centered on Wichita County and Wilbarger County.[8] W.T. Waggoner raised Quarter Horses on the ranch, including Poco Bueno, who was buried on the ranch.[9] In 1902, W.T. Waggoner found oil while drilling for water.[10]

By 1909, W.T. Waggoner divided the Waggoner Ranch into four subsections: one for himself (White Face); and three smaller 8,500 acre sub-ranches for his children: Zacaweista, Four Corners, and Santa Ros.[6] However, in 1923, he changed his mind, and set up a Massachusetts trust.[6] His children would elect a board of trustees, who would make decisions with him at the helm.[6]

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.[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.[6][11] E. Paul Waggoner raised Quarter Horses on the ranch.[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.[6][12]

When Guy Waggoner died in 1950, his sons sold their share of the estate to members of the family.[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.[11] Buster raised polo ponies and established the El Ranchio Polo Club on the ranch.[13] He once played there with polo champion Cecil Smith.[6] Meanwhile, Electra Waggoner Biggs became a renowned sculptor.[6]

In 1991, Electra Waggoner Biggs sued to be able to sell the ranch.[14] Her second cousin, Albert Buckman Wharton III, also known as Bucky Wharton, who was Buster Wharton's son, appealed to stop the liquidation.[14] After Electra Waggoner Biggs's death, her share was inherited by Electra Waggoner Biggs's daughter Helen Biggs and her husband, Gene Willingham.[11]

The ranch has been surveyed by the United States Department of Agriculture for matters of preservation.[6] Thirty cowboys, and about 120 people overall, are employed on the property.[6] It has about 14,000 cows and bulls as well as 500 horses.[9] It also includes a 367 MW wind farm,[15] 30,000 acres of arable land and about 1,100 producing oil wells.[9] One of the lakes on the ranch provides water for the City of Wichita Falls.[9]

In August 2014, the ranch was listed on the real estate market with an asking price of US$725 million.[3][14][16] It was ultimately sold in February 2016 to billionaire Stan Kroenke, the husband of Wal-Mart heiress Ann Walton Kroenke and current owner of the National Football League's Los Angeles Rams and the Premier League's Arsenal F.C.[5]

• Official website

33.9°N 99.0°W / 33.9; -99.0