The W. T. Waggoner Ranch is located 13 miles south of Vernon, Texas with office headquarters in Vernon. The Waggoner Ranch was established in 1849 by Dan Waggoner. He began buying land in western Wise County in 1870. As land was cleared for settlement, he gradually moved west and by the late 1870s settled along Beaver Creek near Electra Texas.
Dan Waggoner passed away in 1903, and his son, W. T. (Tom) Waggoner continued to expand his ranching interests. Today the ranch consists of approximately 535,000 acres, and is recognized as the largest ranch in Texas under one fence. In 1923, W. T. formed what is known today as the W. T. Waggoner Estate. He served as trustee, and his three children, Guy Waggoner, Electra Waggoner Wharton, and E. Paul Waggoner comprised the Board of Directors.
The W. T. Waggoner Ranch is five time winner of the Texas Ranch Roundup and a recipient of the American Quarter Horse Association's "Best of the Remuda Award". Members of American Quarter Horse Association, Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, National Beef Council, Texas Alliance of Energy Producers, and the Texas Land and Mineral Owners Association.
Main interests of the company are ranching, oil, and approximately 26,000 acres in cultivation. The horses are bred for working ranch purposes,and many still carry the bloodline of the famous quarter horse, Poco Bueno; The cow herd is approximately 60 percent straightHereford with 40 percent Angus/Hereford and Brangus/Hereford cross. The W. T. Waggoner Estate is managed by A. B. Wharton and Gene Willingham, Co-directors.
It's likely the purchaser was an oil company. According to the sellers:
"Approximately 160,000 acres of the 560,000 acres are proven prolific oil properties. Very few test wells have penetrated the remaining 400,000 acres. The South and Western portions of the ranch are within the shelf and slope regions of the carbonate platform where the application of new 3-D seismic technology tied to solid geological models will lead to a very successful venture."
"Professional sports mogul and rancher Stan Kroenke, whose holdings include the Los Angeles Rams football team, has been approved to purchase the iconic W.T. Waggoner Ranch in north Texas, representatives of the sale announced Tuesday.
The historic property, considered the largest U.S. ranch behind one fence, had been on the market for 18 months at an asking price of $725 million.
Terms of the potential sale were not disclosed, according to a news release from Perry Street Communications, a Dallas consulting firm."