Living on an enormous ranch in Texas, surrounded by Lone Star State-inspired scenery, has often been a dream for many of our readers. The concept of living large in Texas has always been somewhat of a misnomer for the majority of us. But, luckily, there are some sprawling acreages out there that look like something straight out of a Ranch & Reserve issue, and that leads us to believe that dreaming big as well as working hard played equal parts in the making of some of the largest ranches in Texas. That being said, we’ll slake your thirst for seeing some of these properties and, without further ado, here are five of the biggest ranches in Texas.
Lifestyle
5 of the Biggest Ranches in Texas: Stop Drooling and Read On
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1. Hughes Ranch
Photo: Facebook/The New York Times
At 390,000 acres, the majority of the Hughes ranch is maintained for personal use. The owners also sell cattle and offer hunting leases.
2. O’Connor Family Ranch
Photo: Public Domain Pictures
When Thomas O’Connor passed away in 1887, he left the ranch land to his children, who, in turn, left it to their children, and so on. Today, his descendants continue to share ownership of the 500,000 acres of land.
3. Waggoner Ranch
Photo: Facebook/Waggoner Ranch
Now owned by Stan Kroenke (owner of the L.A. Rams, Denver Nuggets, and Colorado Avalanche), this ranch consists of 535,000 acres of beautiful Texas property.
4. Briscoe Ranches
Photo: Facebook/Texas Via Matt Smith
When a few Texans are lucky to inherit large properties and then downsize the ranches in the long term, Dolph Briscoe, Jr. went in the exact opposite direction. He inherited 190,000 acres after his father passed away, and then began to amass land holdings to the tune of 650,000 acres according to Forbes. The family continues to manage the properties and are known as philanthropic in the fields of art, history, and post-secondary education.
5. King Ranch
Photo: Facebook/King Ranch
Founded by Captain Richard King, who was rumored to know practically nothing about cattle ranching, the ranch consists of land purchases in areas that had the only source of fresh water for miles around. His smart decisions and business attitude led to a property and entity that was incorporated in 1934 and continues to have diversified interests (agribusiness, oil, and gas) and is co-owned by his heirs and company stockholders.
