The owner of a historic Oklahoma cattle ranch operated by the same family for almost 97 years has put the property up for sale, with an auction to be held on March 15.
Wirt Trawick was just a toddler when his father established the Trawick Ranch. After 94 years on the ranch, including a long run as the property’s current owner, Trawick has decided the time is finally right for a sale.
“My dad was an oil man in Arkansas, and he followed the oil boom around to various towns in Oklahoma,” he said. “He bought his first quarter section in Lincoln County in 1928.”
Since then, the family built up the ranch, often acquiring properties homesteaded by others who decided to move further west in search of new opportunities. However, even before becoming Trawick Ranch, the land has a rich history of its own.
“In the 1880s, during the cattle drives, they would stop here and water their cattle,” Wirt recalled.
The ranch has been known been for not only its size of over 1,900 acres, but also for its ample water supply, hunting grounds and Hereford cattle. Wirt said his father had a bulldozer business and started making pond improvements in 1944.
“There are now at least 17 good ponds. There’s plenty of water. Some of the ponds were designed with risers and pipes that feed other ponds downstream,” he added. He also recalled when the family got electricity in 1954, which allowed them to install pumps in many of their wells.
The ponds are all stocked with channel catfish, bass, perch, and crappie. They coexist with an abundant population of deer, turkeys, and quail.
Cattle were first introduced to the ranch in 1939.
“They were Horned Herefords from Perry, Oklahoma. Later, we got into the Polled Hereford business, where we sold range bulls and replacement females. I was an only child, so Dad let me gradually grow into the cattle operation. The most cattle we ever ran was about 225 head.”
However, that wasn’t the only livestock Wirt recalls. He also spent seven years raising goats on the Opfell place, running up to 70 nannies on the 160 acres. Horses were also a big part of the ranch, used for transportation and work. Wirt said he grew up on horseback and would ride about 10 miles one way to the farm.
“I guess back then, parents didn’t worry as much about what their kids were up to as they do now,” he said with a smile. He kept the horses even after mechanization.“Often,you could move the cattle down the road to another farm on horseback quicker than you could catch them, load them, and haul them.”
With 13 total tracts spanning 1,900 acres more or less, eight of which are contiguous, each farm has its own unique stories to tell. Wirt recalls most of those stories with incredible detail.
In the nearly 100 years that the Trawick family has been building and improving these properties, they’ve seen it all, including selling yearling cattle for $0.23 per pound and cows for $0.09 per pound. Much like the family who has owned it, the land under the Trawick’s control has weathered the bad and enjoyed the good, always coming out better on the other side.
“It’s time to pass this on to the next generation,” Wirt said. “Let them put their mark on it.”
Broker and owner of United Country Real Estate/ Bendele Co. LLC Brian Benedele, who is holding the Trawick auction with his father Mike, said Wirt has many memories of the ranch and helped create a lot of the features seen today.
The auction is scheduled for Saturday, March 15, at 10 a.m. at 1096 E Seventh St. in Chandler. It will be held in coordination with John and Justin Ball of Ball Auction Service and is a no-reserve real estate auction with the ranch being sold in part or in full to the highest bidders.
There are 16 separate parcels of land available, with each tract ranging from 40 to 160 acres. Bendele said the idea is to give buyers the opportunity to purchase individual tracts, groups of tracts, or even the entire Trawick Ranch.
For more information, you can visit the listing on United Country Real Estate’s website (www. chandler-ok-realestate. com).