Benjamin, TX (Knox County)

The topography of the ranch changes from flat level fields along Hwy 82 on its south side with an elevation of approximately 1500’ to rugged badlands as it drops off to rolling hills and finally the river bottom with an elevation of approximately 1280’. The soil types include clay loams in the fields, silty loams along the river, very shallow clay soils between the washes in the badlands area and mostly clay and clay loams in the area between the badlands and the river bottom.

The ranch is well watered with approximately 16 earthen reservoirs, several springs that run out of the rugged breaks area, approximately seven to eight miles of the South Wichita River and four wells with submersible electric motors and pumps. Three of these wells are approximately 80’ deep and are located along the highway on the south side of the ranch to furnish cattle water when the fields are being grazed. The other well is located in the middle of the ranch and furnishes water for the hunting camp. A fifth well located in the far southwest corner of the ranch is not currently used nor is a windmill near the northeast corner. The river runs east from the ranch through the adjoining Waggoner Ranch to Lake Kemp which furnishes water for the city of Wichita Falls as well as an irrigation district. In order to help reduce the salinity of this water, an Army Corps of Engineers project utilizes a collapsible dam located upstream from this ranch to trap and pump water to a brine lake near Truscott during periods of low water flow. The ranch owner states that he has seen only three times during the past 30 years when the river was not flowing and that there were pools of water in the river even then.

The average annual rainfall in this area is approximately 25” with three fourths of the rain coming during the growing season of April through October. The ranch has a good cover of cedar and mesquite brush providing an excellent habitat for wildlife. There are also open, grassy areas with little or no brush. Tobosa is the predominate grass with a mixture of other grasses including sideoats grama and buffalo also present.

The ranch is fenced with barbed wire and a combination of steel and cedar posts, with wire or wood stays between the posts. When the cross fencing currently underway is completed, there will be three large pastures plus a number of smaller traps and the fields fenced separately as also are the 333.4 acres on the west side of Ranch Road 267. There is a good set of steel working pens with loading chute on the north fenceline near Ranch Road 267 that extend onto the adjoining property and used by both ranches. A group of hunters who lease the hunting on an annual basis have constructed a hunting camp with a pavilion and RV hookups. Their lease is on a year-to-year basis and could likely be continued if a new owner wanted.

The ranch is currently used for a cow-calf operation with the fields planted to wheat and utilized for additional winter grazing. The owner states that the ranch will run approximately 350 head of cows on a year-round basis during normal years but because of the current severe drought, that number has been reduced to approximately 250 head.

This well-located ranch offers a unique opportunity to obtain a large, working cattle ranch with excellent hunting and plentiful water.