Warrick Ranches
The Story of the Land
The North Section, (7-25-3) Pierce County NE.
Section 7-25-3 in Pierce County NE was first patented November 20,1884 by John Brown and William E. Higman. Both were also instrumental in establishing the Commercial Cattle Company, known as the CCC Ranch, before it was incorporated in 1908.
The property was also utilized by a Mr. E. de la Chappelle, a wealthy glass manufacturer from Ottawa, Illinois, who was the prime mover, as well as a big investor and organizer of a French capitalized corporation that purchased 12,000 acres in Blaine and Mills precinct and was intended to forward the breeding of Percheron horses on a large scale.
All farming and ranching during the late 1800s was done by horses, mules and oxen. However by the turn of the century things changed fast toward the mechanization of agriculture. This future was not foreseen by Mr. Chappelle.
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Large buildings were constructed on the ranch headquarters, which were located in a section about a mile southeast of 7- 25-3 (the present Warwick & Son’s Section).
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The company imported some beautiful Percheron horses. The land was all fenced with smooth wire, some of which still remains. Some of the land was broken up and sown to Lucerne clover, later to be known to us as alfalfa. It was argued that a combination of Percheron horses and alfalfa would not fail to be a winning combination for the future success of this ranching adventure.
A great deal of money was spent in the construction of a 19-room, three-story ranch mansion, which was made as modern is possible. The third story was used as a play room for the owners and their help. Huge barns were erected and a water system was installed. 32 horses were kept to do the farm work.
The French investors had trusted Chappelle, who had made good in other ventures. But this was a new field of agriculture and one in which he could not control the selling end or the change of the agriculture future. Organized as it was, and running into a period of low prices, it was doomed to failure. It was too great an investment with too heavy an overhead and inexperienced personnel.
Most of the help was brought over from France, unknowledgeable in the handling of sandy soil. Larger areas were broken and planted and the fields literally blew away. Great "blowouts" resulted and can still be seen today. The low-roofed buildings were drifted in by moving sand dunes and the great house stood bleak and bare on a low eminence created by the winds blowing the sand away from the base of the house.
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Very little grain was raised and not enough could be bought locally. The grazing was all native Nebraska grasses, adapted to sandy soils, but hard to replace after the land was broken up to farm. Thus perished this venture. Not entirely discouraged, however, the name was change to "The Horse Ranch". A huge breeding barn was erected, but this too, was a failure after a few years.
When the Commercial Cattle Company was incorporated in 1908, numerous loans were made and land traded and sold in trying to raise money for success. The CCC Ranch was formed at the Paxton Hotel in Omaha, Nebraska on Monday, January 13, 1908. They issued stock for $1000 each to raise $250,000 of capital. "The general nature of the business to be transacted" according to the articles of incorporation, "by this corporation shall be the purchase, breeding, raising, caring for, feeding and fattening of cattle, sheep, hogs and other livestock and animals and selling the same and the products thereof, and other things that are incidental to said business of said corporation in said State of Nebraska". They still had over 12,000 acres for this corporation
It has been said that the corporation lasted until the early 1920’s. The abstract of the title shows that banks in Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska had mortgages against the land at some time during the life of the CCC Ranch.
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World War II came and brought big changes to Section 7-25-3. It was part of a large Air-to-Ground gunnery range, taken by the federal government for the training of the Army Air Corp in Air-to-Ground live fire training. From 1941 until the end of the war in 1945 fighter planes and bombers pounded the land and hundreds of acres surrounding it. Blowouts can still be seen, caused by this military training. It is all now in private owners' hands and is healing. But it takes care and time to heal the many follies and ventures.
Google map showing location of the north section
Section 7-25-3 Boundary
When Warrick & Sons purchased S7-T25-R3W in Pierce County in 1988 it was in bad shape. It was grazed down, the blowouts were huge and the fences were poor. It had just one well with a windmill in need of much repair.
The first year we put just 25 heifers in the pasture and concentrated on fixing fences and repairing the water system. Working on windmills is slow and dangerous. We replaced the tower and used the windmill and the well as our only source of water for 20 years. We crossed fenced with battery powered electric fence. Electric fence worked, but it was not satisfactory over time. The pasture being in a remote location it was difficult to monitor and keep the electric fence in place and operating.
We also started to repair the blowouts by fencing them so that livestock could not get to them and disturb the fragile soil. We fenced 5 blowouts, reshaped some of the worst ones, and reseeded them with native grasses.
Fortunately we had good seasons with timely rains and over the next few years a good cover of native grasses grew in the blowouts.
In 2005 we applied for our first Environmental Quality Incentive Grant (EQUIP) from the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). We put in a new solar well in the north part of the pasture, fixed the old well with a new pad and divided the Section into two equal pastures with a permanent barbed wire fence. This was the first time we used solar as a method to pump water.
CCC Ranch in Blue and Section 7-25-3 in Red
Extreme blowout, probably caused by bombing.
Documents furnished by the Department of the Army regarding un-exploded ordinance that might still remain on the property.
The "Horse Ranch" is now owned by the Winkelbauer family of Norfolk, NE. The buildings are long gone. A well is there for watering cattle and Cottonwood trees are still survivors of a past long gone.
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I remember, as a young man in my early teens, and with my twenty-two short cartridge rifle, hunting coyotes with my father in the infamous "coyote drives", which started at the "Old Horse Ranch". We did kill coyotes, but we also killed a lot of innocent wildlife in the process. I can also remember the old house, still standing, and the large horse barn.
Warrick and Sons purchased the property in 1988 from the Drahota family, who acquired it in 1945 from the U.S. Army after World War II. Since that time Warrick & Sons have been managing the property to bring it back to a sustainable grass pasture land. This involved fencing off most of the "blowouts" (caused by bombing, gunnery practice and windblown sand) and then reseeding it to native grasses. Rotational grazing is also practiced, but fencing was difficult, especially electric fencing, so permanent fencing is now preferred .
The pasture was then selected by the NRCS as a demonstration grazing project, lasting 5 years, from 2018--2023.
Warrick & Sons have since installed solar wells and permanent cross fencing, making four permanent pastures with water. A schedule of grazing is used and they consult with NRCS when to move into different pastures. This is proving to be very successful.
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Warrick & Sons also signed a permanent easement with the Northern Prairies Land Trust, protecting the land and its grasses, by deed and in perpetuity from ever being developed.
Bob in front of new solar water tank.
Looking north at some 100+years old cottonwood trees.
Looking east from the west gate toward a solar water well.
Looking north from the west gate
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Another solar watering tank
