World Agriculture Directory: the home of the world's largest agriculture database. Fastest way to find events, farms and agribusiness that suit your needs. Agriculture Event Directory

Cattlemen Hall of FameBeef cattle barons, cowboys, breeders and builders from around the world

Famous Ranches and Stations

Bell Ranch: A New Mexico Land Grant Ranch and Its Bell Brand

Roughly 290,000 deeded acres near Tucumcari, descended from a Mexican land grant and still run as a working cattle ranch.

Where is Bell Ranch and how big is it?

Bell Ranch is a historic cattle ranch near Tucumcari in eastern New Mexico, among the largest privately owned ranches in the country. A look back at the 2010 sale from Ranchland.com describes about 290,100 deeded acres, or roughly 453 square miles. Wikipedia adds that it is large enough to have its own ZIP code.

It lies along the Canadian River country, borders Conchas Lake and takes in canyon land such as Mule Canyon. Its infrastructure includes extensive fencing, internal roads, wells, windmills, pipelines, stock tanks and water systems, the practical equipment that lets a dry-country ranch carry cattle.

The Pablo Montoya grant and the early years

The ranch traces back to the Pablo Montoya land grant of 1824, a Mexican grant of roughly 656,000 acres. The modern ranch is about 44 percent of that original grant. Before ranching, Kiowa and Comanche people ranged over the grassland, according to the Wikipedia article on Bell Ranch.

That article says Montoya named the ranch for Bell Mountain, did not receive full government ownership until 1869, and sold the land in 1874 after four vaqueros were killed by Kiowa. Details of early grant history vary between accounts, so treat the dates for the earliest decades as a summary rather than a settled record.

How did Wilson Waddingham build the Bell Ranch?

Wilson Waddingham, called Waddy in the Wikipedia account, bought the Bell Ranch land in the 1870s. That purchase, added to 754,000 acres he already held, made him the largest landowner in northeastern New Mexico. The adobe White House ranch house was built in 1876.

Waddingham bred range cows with Shorthorn bulls and branded the cattle with a bell-shaped brand on the left hip. The ranch's one-iron brand was first registered in San Miguel County in 1875. On January 7, 1883, he hosted a seven-course dinner described as the finest meal served in New Mexico Territory.

Vaqueros, cowboys and cattle

Cattle mainly graze the ranch's grasslands, with some supplemental feed. Vaqueros rode horses descended from stock brought by Spain beginning in the sixteenth century to inspect the range and move cattle, and their working methods merged with those of American cowboys. John H. Culley wrote a book, Cattle, Horses and Men, about working on the ranch.

The Ranchland.com piece also notes a horse breeding program tied to a U.S. cavalry remount herd and a closed composite cattle breed called RedBell. Carrying capacity is about 5,000 animal units.

The Key to Bell Ranch's Endurance

Bell Ranch has stayed a working ranch for well over a century by keeping its core country together and changing the cattle and the owners, rather than splitting up the land.

The record also shows the costs of that scale: violence on the frontier, a grant whose title took decades to settle, and a breakup. In 1947 the ranch was divided into six sections and land was sold, which is why the modern ranch is only part of the original grant.

  • Held a very large block of grassland, with water developed through wells, windmills and pipelines.
  • Improved range cattle by crossing them with Shorthorn bulls in the Waddingham era.
  • Built a lasting identity around the bell brand and the Bell name.
  • Relied on vaquero horsemanship that merged with American cowboy practice.
  • Developed its own closed composite herd, RedBell, and a horse program tied to a cavalry remount herd.
  • Remained a single large operation of roughly 290,000 deeded acres after the 1947 division.

Waggoner, the 1947 breakup and the Malone sale

In the 1930s Guy Waggoner acquired the ranch and built a 10,300-square-foot hacienda. In 1947 the ranch was divided into six sections. A Mason & Morse offering in fall 2009 listed the ranch at $99 million, or $103 million with livestock and equipment, and the asking price was later reduced from $110 million to $99 million and then to $83 million in 2010, not including livestock.

Ron Morris, then with Ranch Marketing Associates, represented Liberty Media chairman John Malone as the buyer, and Malone bought the ranch in August 2010 at the $83 million listing price. The Land Report called it the largest single ranch sale since Ted Turner's 1996 purchase of Vermejo Park from Pennzoil.

Archives and further reading

Researchers can also look at New Mexico archive collections that turn up in searches on Bell Ranch history, including the David A. Remley papers at the University of New Mexico, which span the years 1790 to 1991.

For more on New Mexico ranching, see the ranching section on farm.FM and a farm.FM story about a New Mexico cattle ranch.

Timeline

  1. 1824Pablo Montoya land grant of roughly 656,000 acres
  2. 1869Montoya receives full government ownership, per Wikipedia
  3. 1874Montoya sells the land
  4. 1875One-iron brand first registered in San Miguel County
  5. 1876White House adobe ranch house built
  6. 1883Waddingham hosts a seven-course dinner on January 7
  7. 1947Ranch divided into six sections
  8. 2010John Malone buys the ranch at $83 million

Frequently asked questions

Who owns Bell Ranch?

John Malone has owned Bell Ranch since August 2010, when he bought it at the $83 million listing price, according to Ranchland.com.

How big is Bell Ranch?

About 290,100 deeded acres, or roughly 453 square miles. That is about 44 percent of the original Pablo Montoya land grant of roughly 656,000 acres.

Where is Bell Ranch located?

Near Tucumcari, New Mexico, along the Canadian River and bordering Conchas Lake, in the eastern part of the state.

Why is it called Bell Ranch?

The Wikipedia article says Pablo Montoya named it for Bell Mountain, and cattle later carried a bell-shaped brand during the Waddingham era.

Sources and further reading

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

More from the hall