Edward Paul Waggoner (April 9, 1889 – March 3, 1967), born in

Decatur, Texas Decatur is the county seat of Wise County, Texas, United States. Its population was 6,538 in 2020. History Wise County was established in 1856, and Taylorsville (in honor of Zachary Taylor) was made the county seat. Absalom Bishop, an early s ...

, was an American rancher, and one of the three original heirs to the W.T. Waggoner Estate in

North Texas North Texas is a term used primarily by residents of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex to refer to a geographic area of Texas, generally considered to include the area south of Oklahoma, east of Abilene, Texas, Abilene, west of Paris, Texas, Par ...

. After forming the estate, Tom Waggoner appointed his three children, E. Paul, Guy and Electra, to the board of directors. He was inducted into the

American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame The American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame and Museum was created by the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA), based in Amarillo, Texas. Ground breaking construction of the Hall of Fame Museum began in 1989. The distinction is earned by people and ...

posthumously, in 1991.

Early life

Edward Paul Waggoner, best known as E. Paul, was born in 1889 to Ella (Halsell) and

William Thomas Waggoner William Thomas Waggoner (August 31, 1852 – December 11, 1934) was an American rancher, oilman, banker, horsebreeder and philanthropist from Texas. He was the owner of the Waggoner Ranch, where he found oil in 1903. He was the founding president ...

. Tom Waggoner was an infant when his father

Daniel Waggoner Daniel Waggoner (July 7, 1828 – September 5, 1902) was an early American settler and rancher in Texas. He also owned five banks, three cottonseed oil mills, and a coal company. He established the Waggoner Ranch, which spanned eight counties: Wis ...

acquired land south of the Red River near Vernon, Texas and started a ranch with a few hundred head of longhorn cattle and some horses. At the time, the Red River separated Texas from what was known as

Indian Territory Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United States, ...

; it was an area where the Comanche and Kiowa made frequent raids. Tom was instrumental in expanding their land holdings into what became the sprawling

Waggoner Ranch The Waggoner Ranch is a historic ranch located 13 miles south of Vernon, Texas, in north Texas near the Red River and Oklahoma border. Founded in 1852 by Daniel Waggoner, it is the largest ranch within one fence in the United States.

, the largest ranch under one fence in the United States. E. Paul had two siblings, a brother

Guy Waggoner Guy Leslie Waggoner (September 21, 1883 – December 11, 1950) was an American rancher and business executive. He inherited one-fourth of the Waggoner Ranch in Texas. Later, he owned the Bell Ranch in New Mexico. He served as Chairman of the Texas ...

and sister

Electra Waggoner Electra Waggoner (January 6, 1882 – November 26, 1925) was an American rancher and socialite from Texas. She was an heiress to the Waggoner Ranch, one of the largest ranches in the United States. The town of Electra, Texas, was named in her hono ...

. They were raised in the

Waggoner Mansion The Waggoner Mansion (a.k.a. El Castile) is a historic mansion in Decatur, Texas. The sixteen room mansion was built in 1883 by the Waggoner Family. It was purchased in 1942 by Mr. and Mrs. Phil Luker. Location The mansion is located at 1003 ...

(a.k.a. 'El Castile') in Decatur, Texas but also spent time on the Waggoner Ranch which was headquartered near Vernon, Texas. Their horse program headquarters was referred to as Whiteface.

Career

Waggoner inherited one-fourth of the Waggoner Ranch, known as the 'Santa Rosa' subsection, where he bred

Quarter Horses The American Quarter Horse, or Quarter Horse, is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name is derived from its ability to outrun other horse breeds in races of or less; some have been clocked at speeds up to . ...

. An extension of his ranch holdings included 3D Stock Farm which was also home to Arlington Downs, a multimillion-dollar

racetrack A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also us ...

facility his father had built, gambling that

parimutuel betting Parimutuel betting, or pool betting, is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the ''house-take'', or ''vigorish'', are deducted, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among a ...

would be legalized in Texas; the latter of which did occur in 1933 but the law was repealed in 1937, and wasn't legalized again in Texas until 1987. E. Paul purchased

Poco Bueno __NOTOC__ Poco Bueno was a brown American Quarter Horse stallion foaled April 10, 1944.Simmons ''Legends'' p. 31-37 He was sired by King P-234 and out of the mare Miss Taylor who was by Old Poco Bueno. Poco Bueno was named for his maternal gran ...

as a long yearling in 1945 from Jess Hankins at the Hankins Auction Sale in

San Angelo, Texas San Angelo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tom Green County, Texas, United States. Its location is in the Concho Valley, a region of West Texas between the Permian Basin (North America), Permian Basin to the northwest, Chihuahuan Desert ...

for US$5,700. The sire went on to win many halter and cutting competitions. Poco Bueno sired

Poco Lena Poco Lena (1949–1968) was an outstanding cutting mare, and dam of two famous Quarter horse cutting horses and stallions: Doc O'Lena and Dry Doc.Swan ''Legends 3'' pp. 98–111 Life Poco Lena was foaled in 1949, the daughter of Poco Bueno ...

, Poco Stampede, Poco Mona and

Poco Pine Poco Pine (1954–1974) was an American Quarter Horse stallion and breeding stallion. He earned 50 Grand Championships in his showing career and after his death was inducted into the American Quarter Horse Association's (or AQHA) AQHA Hall of F ...

, won many equine competitions in the United States. Other national champions bred by Waggoner were Jessie James and Pep Up. Waggoner was the owner of the

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...

grounds in Vernon.Preston Cary, ''Vernon'', Arcadia Publishing, 2013, p. 102
/ref> In 1946, he led the first rodeo parade in the town.

Personal life

Waggoner married Helen Buck, and had a daughter,

Electra Waggoner Biggs Electra Waggoner Biggs (November 8, 1912 – April 23, 2001) was a Texas-born heiress, socialite and artist, and owner of a portion of the Waggoner Ranch in Texas. She is widely known for her sculptures of Will Rogers, Dwight Eisenhower, Harry ...

, who became a sculptor.

Death and legacy

Waggoner died in 1967. He was inducted into the

posthumously, in 1991.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waggoner, E. Paul 1889 births 1967 deaths Ranchers from Fort Worth, Texas American racehorse owners and breeders People from Decatur, Texas AQHA Hall of Fame (members)