Waggoner Ranch main entrance. The entrance includes the ranch's backward three Ds brand.
Revised by: Judy Alter, Updated: August 28, 2023
Source: Texas State Historical Association
The Waggoner (Three D) Ranch had its beginnings in the early 1850s when Daniel Waggoner, his son W. T. (Tom), and a fifteen-year-old Black slave trailed 242 cattle and six horses into Wise County.
Waggoner left behind in East Texas the grave of his wife. He first settled on Catlett Creek near the site of present Decatur, Texas. Two years later, after buying an additional 200 head, Waggoner located his herd on a 15,000-acre tract on the West Fork of the Trinity River near Cactus Hill, in an area now under Lake Bridgeport.
However, because of the increasing danger of American Indian raids, he was compelled to move his family east to Denton Creek temporarily. His first brand was a D61, but about 1866 he began branding with three Ds in reverse, a brand easy to recognize and difficult for rustlers to alter. He used a D71 brand on his horses until around 1881.
Daniel Waggoner
By 1869, Dan and Tom Waggoner had formed a partnership known as D. Waggoner and Son. Late that year they wintered a herd in Clay County, and in the spring of 1870 young Tom headed a drive to the Kansas market and netted a profit of $55,000, which was the basis of their ranch fortune.
In 1871, with the westward push of the frontier, the Waggoners moved their headquarters to Clay County and settled temporarily on the Wichita River in southeastern Wichita County. From that site they moved the headquarters to the junction of China Creek and the Red River in northwestern Wichita County, just north of what is now Electra, which was later named for Tom's daughter.
By the early 1880s their range extended thirty miles from China Creek to Pease River.
In 1885, the need for more grassland prompted them to join other Texas ranchers leasing range land in the "Big Pasture," part of the Comanche and Kiowa reservation lands across the Red River in Indian Territory.
With the passing of the open range, they began purchasing Texas land. Paying about $1 an acre, the Waggoners slowly built their cattle and horse empire. Between 1889 and 1903 the ranch came to cover a block running thirty miles east and west and twenty-five miles north and south, including more than a million acres. It extended into Foard, Knox, Baylor, and Archer counties but centered chiefly in Wilbarger and Wichita counties.
Among the notable employees on the Waggoner Ranch during its early years were Jimmie Roberts, E. B. Gillis, Walter Lowrance, Tony Hazelwood, and W. D. (Shinnery) McElroy. Roberts, who was a dead shot, proved an effective deterrent to rustlers.
Among the notable employees on the Waggoner Ranch during its early years were Jimmie Roberts, E. B. Gillis, Walter Lowrance, Tony Hazelwood, and W. D. (Shinnery) McElroy. Roberts, who was a dead shot, proved an effective deterrent to rustlers.
During the 1880s, the Waggoners sold around 40,000 cattle a year. By 1900, the ranch, well-watered and compact, held 60,000 cattle. Three railroads afforded transportation to the markets, thus eliminating the annual long drives over the Western Trail to Kansas.
In 1900, Robert L. More, noted for his collection of bird eggs, came into the Waggoners' administrative employ. By that time, they had abandoned the Big Pasture in the wake of the federal government's allotment of reservation lands to individual settlers.
In 1903, the China Creek headquarters was sold as farming land in a development known as the Waggoner Colony. The Wichita and Wilbarger land eventually was broken into at least four divisions with headquarters known as White Face, Four Corners, Santa Rosa, and Zacaweista (also spelled Sachueista). Subsequently Zacaweista, south of Vernon, emerged as the main headquarters.
Around 1885, the Waggoners began breeding Durham shorthorns, and Hereford cattle were introduced early in the 1890s. Since 1917, the stock has been predominantly Hereford, although experimental crossbreeding programs with Angus, Brahman, Simbrah, and Brangus bulls were tried.
Dan Waggoner died in 1904, and W. T. took over the ranch. In 1909, he divided the ranch among his three children, Paul, Guy, and Electra, as a Christmas gift mainly to give them training in ranching, and maintained a quarter section, called White Face for himself.
Around 1885, the Waggoners began breeding Durham shorthorns, and Hereford cattle were introduced early in the 1890s. Since 1917, the stock has been predominantly Hereford, although experimental crossbreeding programs with Angus, Brahman, Simbrah, and Brangus bulls were tried.
Dan Waggoner died in 1904, and W. T. took over the ranch. In 1909, he divided the ranch among his three children, Paul, Guy, and Electra, as a Christmas gift mainly to give them training in ranching, and maintained a quarter section, called White Face for himself.
The discovery of oil at Electra in 1911 caused the Waggoners to combine oil production and refining with ranching activities; the refinery cars and tanks bore the image of the Waggoner cattle brand. For years, the area around the Zacaweista headquarters contained one of the major shallow oilfields of the world, which was developed by the Texas Company which later became Texaco.
In 1923, the heirs apparently having declined to learn about ranching, W. T. consolidated the ranch under a trust with himself as the sole trustee and the only one empowered to make decisions for the property.
In 1923, the heirs apparently having declined to learn about ranching, W. T. consolidated the ranch under a trust with himself as the sole trustee and the only one empowered to make decisions for the property.
Waggoner Ranch became renowned for its Quarter Horses.
The ranch specialized in fine horses as well as cattle. W.T. always had a stable of fine thoroughbreds. When Buster Wharton, Electra’s son, inherited her portion of the ranch, he raised polo ponies. But the ranch ultimately became known for Quarter Horses.
W. T’s son, E. Paul, bought a yearling called Poco Bueno at auction in San Angelo, Texas. The horse became the ranch’s foundation sire and probably the best-known Quarter Horse of all time. He earned several championships, sired several champions, and had a distinguished career as a cutting horse after he was retired from the championship circuit.
In 1931, W. T., then living mostly in Fort Worth, bought farmland near Arlington, Texas, and developed the Waggoner Arlington Downs Stables, a $2 million racing plant that remained in operation until the repeal of the state's parimutuel betting law in 1937.
After the 1934 death of Tom Waggoner, his widow, Ella Halsell Waggoner, became the sole trustee and served in that capacity until the 1950s when she was in her nineties. She relinquished authority to her only surviving child, E. Paul. In later years the trustee position was filled by several men appointed from outside the family. Although the surviving heirs owned the land, they had no voice in its management according to the terms of the trust, and each trustee found it difficult to navigate the increasing tension between branches of the family.
When Buster Wharton died in 1967, the issue of inheritance led to one of the most contentious lawsuits seen in Texas courts. Several parties filed lawsuits claiming rights to Buster’s portion of the ranch, and the matter was in the courts for six-and-a-half years. Ultimately the Texas Supreme Court named Buster’s son, Bucky Wharton, as the legitimate heir. Bucky and E. Paul’s daughter, internationally-known sculptor Electra Waggoner Biggs, became joint owners of the property.
In 1991, the ranch consisted of more than 520,000 acres in six counties — Wilbarger, Baylor, Wichita, Archer, Knox, and Foard. The largest ranch under one fence in the nation, it was still owned by Waggoner heirs, namely the families of A. B. (Bucky) Wharton III and sculptor Electra Waggoner Biggs.
About 26,000 acres were devoted to farming grain crops. The ranching operation consisted of fifteen camps, or divisions, each with from 20,000 to 30,000 acres. A family resided at each camp to look after the livestock, fences, and water.
In 1931, W. T., then living mostly in Fort Worth, bought farmland near Arlington, Texas, and developed the Waggoner Arlington Downs Stables, a $2 million racing plant that remained in operation until the repeal of the state's parimutuel betting law in 1937.
After the 1934 death of Tom Waggoner, his widow, Ella Halsell Waggoner, became the sole trustee and served in that capacity until the 1950s when she was in her nineties. She relinquished authority to her only surviving child, E. Paul. In later years the trustee position was filled by several men appointed from outside the family. Although the surviving heirs owned the land, they had no voice in its management according to the terms of the trust, and each trustee found it difficult to navigate the increasing tension between branches of the family.
When Buster Wharton died in 1967, the issue of inheritance led to one of the most contentious lawsuits seen in Texas courts. Several parties filed lawsuits claiming rights to Buster’s portion of the ranch, and the matter was in the courts for six-and-a-half years. Ultimately the Texas Supreme Court named Buster’s son, Bucky Wharton, as the legitimate heir. Bucky and E. Paul’s daughter, internationally-known sculptor Electra Waggoner Biggs, became joint owners of the property.
In 1991, the ranch consisted of more than 520,000 acres in six counties — Wilbarger, Baylor, Wichita, Archer, Knox, and Foard. The largest ranch under one fence in the nation, it was still owned by Waggoner heirs, namely the families of A. B. (Bucky) Wharton III and sculptor Electra Waggoner Biggs.
About 26,000 acres were devoted to farming grain crops. The ranching operation consisted of fifteen camps, or divisions, each with from 20,000 to 30,000 acres. A family resided at each camp to look after the livestock, fences, and water.
Twice a year the wagon crew worked the cattle at each camp. During roundups, the ranch helicopter was used in addition to cowboys on horses. Several reservoirs on the ranch properties, including Lake Kemp, provided public recreational facilities as well as limited leased housing.
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| Map showing the Waggoner Ranch. |
At approximately 535,000 acres, as of the 2020s, the ranch is known as the "largest ranch in Texas under one fence" and covers parts of Wilbarger, Baylor, Wichita, Archer, Knox, and Foard counties in North Texas.
In April 1991, Electra Biggs asked a district court to sell the ranch and distribute the proceeds to its shareholders. Bucky Wharton countered with an offer to split the ranch evenly.
Biggs was primarily represented by her son-in-law, Gene Willingham. He and Bucky Wharton differed over how to protect the family fortune against low energy prices and land values, with Willingham contending that an even division would be too complicated given the nature of the assets.
The ranch at the time had cattle, oil wells, mansions, aircraft hangers, and stalls and stables. The land alone was valued at $110 million (in the 1990s), and with the assets added, the estate was estimated at a value of about $330 million. It was the major employer in the area around Vernon, Texas, present-day headquarters of the ranch, and many cowboys and their families had lived their entire lives on the ranch.
Four generations of the Waggoner family had lived on the land.
Eventually, with the two factions unable to negotiate, the case ended up in the courts, which decreed that the land must be sold. In 2016, tycoon and sports mogul Stan Kroenke, owner of the Los Angeles Rams and husband of Walton heiress Ann Walton Kroenke, bought the ranch. Kroenke not only owns the Rams but also hockey, soccer, basketball, and lacrosse teams; ranches in Arizona, Montana, Wyoming, and British Columbia; three vineyards; and a luxury resort in California especially for wine merchants. Purchase of the Waggoner (Three D) Ranch has made him the ninth largest landowner in the United States. Kroenke vowed to keep the Waggoner under one fence.
Eventually, with the two factions unable to negotiate, the case ended up in the courts, which decreed that the land must be sold. In 2016, tycoon and sports mogul Stan Kroenke, owner of the Los Angeles Rams and husband of Walton heiress Ann Walton Kroenke, bought the ranch. Kroenke not only owns the Rams but also hockey, soccer, basketball, and lacrosse teams; ranches in Arizona, Montana, Wyoming, and British Columbia; three vineyards; and a luxury resort in California especially for wine merchants. Purchase of the Waggoner (Three D) Ranch has made him the ninth largest landowner in the United States. Kroenke vowed to keep the Waggoner under one fence.
No descendants of the Waggoner family live on the land for the first time in more than 150 years. In 2020, the only major change was that families were evicted from leased homes on the two lakes within the property, although one lake remains accessible to daytime fishermen and tourists. Surrounding towns have not seen the economic fallout that was anticipated.
Source: Texas State Historical Association
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