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Famous Ranches and Stations

Vermejo Park Ranch: A Maxwell Land Grant Ranch Across Two States

Once a private hunting club and a Pennzoil cattle ranch, the old Vermejo Park Ranch is now a conservation reserve of about 550,000 acres in New Mexico and Colorado.

What is Vermejo Park Ranch?

Vermejo Park Ranch is one of the largest privately held ranches in the United States, a mountain and prairie property in northern New Mexico that crosses into southern Colorado. It is now known as Vermejo, a Ted Turner Reserve. The Wikipedia article on Vermejo Reserve puts it at about 550,000 acres, lying mainly in western Colfax County just west of Raton, with smaller parts in Taos County, New Mexico, and in Las Animas and Costilla counties, Colorado.

The ground rises from about 5,850 feet near Maxwell, New Mexico, to 12,931 feet at Big Costilla Peak, though elevation figures for that peak vary by source. That range of country, from grassland to alpine forest, is what made the property valuable to ranchers, sportsmen and, later, conservationists.

How did the Maxwell Land Grant lead to Vermejo?

The land was originally part of the Maxwell Land Grant. In 1902, William H. Bartlett of Chicago bought 205,000 acres and later expanded the property to 300,000 acres. He is recorded as evicting Mexican residents, reintroducing elk and stocking lakes with trout. Bartlett died at the ranch in 1918, and his sons died within two years.

A syndicate from New York, St. Louis and Chicago then formed the Vermejo Park Club but could not raise the $1.8 million asking price, and the club disbanded. The pattern of a very large estate passing between wealthy owners, each reshaping it, would repeat for most of the twentieth century.

Chandler, Gourley and the Pennzoil years

Harry Chandler, the Los Angeles Times publisher, bought the property in 1926 and opened a new club in 1927. The club closed during the Great Depression, but ranching continued. W. J. Gourley, a Fort Worth businessman, began buying land in 1945 and grew the ranch to 480,000 acres. A guest house burned in 1955, and the stables were converted into a dining and social hall.

Pennzoil bought the ranch from Gourley's estate in 1973 for $26.5 million, which raised its area to 588,000 acres, and continued cattle ranching. For beef history this is the stretch that matters most: a corporate oil company running a working cattle operation across a mountain ranch.

Coal, gas and the mineral rights

Under the surface, the ranch holds coal and gas. Coal mining began by 1880, and seven settlements and mines operated on the ranch, employing 3,563 miners in 1911. A 1913 disaster at nearby Dawson, just outside the ranch boundaries, killed 263 miners. Coal production declined and stopped completely in 2002 because of high extraction costs, and mined land is still being reclaimed.

When Pennzoil sold the surface in 1996 it kept the mineral rights, then sold them to El Paso Natural Gas in 1999. By 2011 there were 970 gas wells on the property, 840 in New Mexico and 130 in Colorado. Gas development next door in the Valle Vidal area drew public opposition, and in 2007 Congress withdrew 101,794 acres of Valle Vidal from energy development and mining.

The Key to Vermejo's Longevity

Vermejo has outlasted nearly every owner by being worth more than one thing at a time. Elk, trout, cattle, coal, gas and recreation have each had a place in different decades, and each owner picked the use that fit his era.

The record also shows the costs. Bartlett evicted Mexican residents, and the mining history includes the large losses of life at nearby Dawson. The property's stability has depended on owners with the capital to hold more than half a million acres.

  • Assembled land in large blocks, from Bartlett's 205,000 acres in 1902 to Gourley's 480,000 acres.
  • Ran private clubs for guests, as with the Vermejo Park Club and the 1927 Chandler club.
  • Kept cattle ranching going through the Depression and under Pennzoil from 1973.
  • Separated surface and mineral rights in 1996, which let the land change hands while gas production continued under a different owner.
  • Turned to conservation after cattle were sold, with bison, elk and restored trout streams.

Turner, bison and conservation

Ted Turner bought the ranch from Pennzoil in 1996, according to the Wikipedia summary, and by 2018 his ranches totaled about 2,000,000 acres, making him the second-largest private U.S. landowner. The sale drew national coverage, including a 1996 Deseret News report on the purchase. Under Turner, cattle were sold and former pasture was converted to bison. The reserve now supports roughly 1,400 bison, 6,000 to 8,000 elk and 3,000 to 4,000 mule deer.

Conservation work includes reintroducing the black-footed ferret in 2008, with a goal of 120 animals, on more than 8,000 acres of prairie dog habitat. Vermejo also protects Rio Grande cutthroat trout, which now occupy about 10% of their former range, and works with Philmont Scout Ranch on stream restoration. A 364-acre solar facility produces 30 megawatts.

Learn more about Vermejo

Today the reserve is used for conservation research, ecosystem restoration and exclusive guest stays, and it still produces coalbed methane natural gas. The Society of Architectural Historians entry is one place to explore the property's built heritage.

For more on the cattle side of western land history, browse the ranching pages on farm.FM or read a farm.FM story about New Mexico ranches.

Timeline

  1. 1880Coal mining begins on the grant lands by this date
  2. 1902William H. Bartlett buys 205,000 acres
  3. 1918Bartlett dies at the ranch
  4. 1926Harry Chandler buys the property
  5. 1945W. J. Gourley begins buying land, later reaching 480,000 acres
  6. 1973Pennzoil buys the ranch for $26.5 million
  7. 1996Ted Turner buys the surface from Pennzoil
  8. 2002Coal production stops completely
  9. 2008Black-footed ferrets are reintroduced

Frequently asked questions

How big is Vermejo Park Ranch?

It is about 550,000 acres today. Earlier figures differ: Pennzoil's holding reached 588,000 acres, and the Wikipedia infobox lists 923 square miles, so sources vary.

Who owns Vermejo Park Ranch?

Ted Turner bought it from Pennzoil in 1996. It is now called Vermejo, a Ted Turner Reserve, and is used for conservation research, restoration and guest stays.

Is Vermejo still a cattle ranch?

Not under Turner. Cattle were sold and former pasture was converted to bison, although cattle ranching continued under earlier owners such as Pennzoil.

Where is Vermejo Park Ranch?

It lies mainly in western Colfax County, New Mexico, near Raton, with parts in Taos County and in Las Animas and Costilla counties, Colorado.

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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