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Dan Waggoner and the Waggoner Ranch: Building a Texas Giant

A Tennessee-born settler started with 320 acres in Wise County and left a ranch, five banks and a family business.

Who was Dan Waggoner?

Daniel Waggoner, known as Dan, founded what became the Waggoner Ranch, one of the largest ranches in the United States. He was born in Tennessee in 1828, settled in Wise County, Texas, and died in Colorado Springs in 1902. He was a settler, rancher and businessman, and the Wikipedia biography says he owned five banks, three cottonseed oil mills and a coal company, mostly with his son.

The record that survives for Dan himself is thinner than for some of his peers, so this profile also covers the ranch his family built.

Early land and the first cattle drives

Wikipedia says Waggoner's first land purchase was 320 acres near Cactus Hill in 1856. The ranch's own history page says he started the ranch in 1849 and began buying land in western Wise County in 1870, so sources differ on the early dates. Either way, the business operated as Waggoner and Son.

In 1873 Dan and his 21-year-old son W.T., called Tom, drove cattle to Kansas and returned with 55,000 dollars, which the Waggoner Ranch about page calls the seed money for the operation. As land to the west opened to settlement, the family moved their grazing west with it.

How big did the Waggoner Ranch get?

Wikipedia says the ranch spread across eight Texas counties: Wise, Clay, Wichita, Wilbarger, Foard, Baylor, Archer and Knox. The ranch's own page counts six. The later ranch is described as about 525,000 contiguous acres, billed as the largest ranch in the country under one fence, with headquarters at Zacaweista, 13 miles south of Vernon.

The ranch's website says about 26,000 acres are under cultivation, about 96 people work there, and its horses carry the bloodline of the Quarter Horse Poco Bueno.

The Key to Waggoner's Success

Dan's record shows a family business that grew by combining cattle money with banking and processing. He worked alongside his son, who carried the business forward after 1902.

The documented lessons below are about structure rather than personality, because the pages consulted do not reveal his private thinking. The sources also disagree on basic dates, which is worth keeping in mind: the ranch's own history places the start in 1849 and the first Wise County buying in 1870, while the encyclopedia account has the first purchase in 1856. Where both agree is on the 1873 Kansas drive with W.T., the move west as settlement advanced, and the family business model. Those are the points this profile leans on.

  • Reinvest trail-drive profit: the 1873 Kansas drive returned 55,000 dollars that seeded further buying.
  • Work as a family firm: the ranch operated as Waggoner and Son, and W.T. later formed the W.T. Waggoner Estate in 1923.
  • Follow settlement westward: the family bought grassland as land was cleared for settlement.
  • Diversify beyond cattle: banks, cottonseed oil mills and a coal company added income.
  • Breed for working use: the ranch's horses were bred for ranch work, many with Poco Bueno bloodlines.

The Waggoner Mansion and family

In 1883 Waggoner built the Waggoner Mansion, called El Castile, in Decatur, Texas. His son W.T. was born to his first wife, Nancy Moore Waggoner. In 1859 Dan married Sicily Ann Halsell.

He died on September 5, 1902, in Colorado Springs. He was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners in 1959.

From W.T. Waggoner to the 2016 sale

W.T. kept expanding the ranch after Dan's death and formed the W.T. Waggoner Estate in 1923. The estate's main interests are ranching and oil, according to the ranch site. In February 2016 Dan's descendants sold the ranch to Kroenke Ranches.

Wikipedia's references for Dan Waggoner include a January 2004 Texas Monthly article by Gary Cartwright, titled Showdown at Waggoner Ranch, for readers who want the ranch's later story in more depth.

Learn more about the Waggoner family

The Handbook of Texas carries entries on Daniel Waggoner and on W.T. Waggoner, and the Wikipedia page on the Waggoner Ranch gives a ranch-level overview. For more on North Texas ranching, see the farm.FM ranching section or read a farm.FM story about the Waggoner Ranch.

Timeline

  1. 1828Born July 7 in Lincoln County, Tennessee
  2. 1856First purchase of 320 acres near Cactus Hill, per Wikipedia
  3. 1859Marries Sicily Ann Halsell
  4. 1873Drives cattle to Kansas with son W.T. and returns with 55,000 dollars
  5. 1883Builds the Waggoner Mansion (El Castile) in Decatur
  6. 1902Dies September 5 in Colorado Springs
  7. 1923W.T. Waggoner forms the W.T. Waggoner Estate
  8. 2016Descendants sell the ranch to Kroenke Ranches

Frequently asked questions

Who was Dan Waggoner?

Daniel Waggoner (1828-1902) was a Tennessee-born settler and rancher who founded the Waggoner Ranch in North Texas. He also owned banks, cottonseed oil mills and a coal company, mostly with his son W.T.

How big is the Waggoner Ranch?

The ranch's own site gives about 525,000 contiguous acres, billed as the largest under one fence in the nation. Earlier, it spanned six to eight counties depending on the source.

Who owns the Waggoner Ranch now?

Descendants of Dan Waggoner sold the ranch to Kroenke Ranches in February 2016, according to the ranch's website.

Where did Dan Waggoner live?

He built the Waggoner Mansion, called El Castile, in Decatur, Wise County, in 1883. He died in Colorado Springs in 1902.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

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