In 2024, Texas’ largest wildfire burned about 46,000 acres of the 77,721-acre Turkey Track Ranch; after rebuilding 65 miles of fencing, its owners have put it back on the market for $180 million

Turkey Track Ranch, a historic Texas Panhandle property spanning 77,721 acres, is back on the market, asking $180 million after recovering from the devastating Smokehouse Creek Fire of February 2024.

The ranch, which stretches from the Caprock country to the Canadian River, was already up for sale when the wildfire swept through it. The fire burned about 60% of its rangeland, so the owners took it off the market and gave the land time to recover.Now, with vegetation and wildlife returning, 65 miles of new fencing installed and the cattle operation running again, the owners have decided to resume the sale.

Getting caught in the largest wildfire in Texas

The Smokehouse Creek Fire was the largest wildfire in recorded Texas history, burning more than one million acres across the Texas Panhandle and into western Oklahoma.Over 46,000 acres of the Turkey Track Ranch were burned in the fire. It killed thousands of head of livestock, caused two human fatalities and destroyed about 500 buildings across the wider area. The fire began after a utility pole adjacent to the Turkey Track Ranch boundary fell and brought down live power lines.

During the time of the fire, the owners were in sale negotiations. They withdrew the ranch from the market and gave the land time to recover. The land has come back with renewed strength and vigour, including robust regrowth of native vegetation, pastures and wildlife. New fencing has been installed across about 65 miles, and the cattle operation is again in full swing. The managers representing the ranch’s shareholders have now voted to put it back on the market and move ahead with the sale.

Water is one of its biggest assets

Beyond its massive size, water is the biggest asset of the property. The ranch has approximately 26 miles of Canadian River frontage. Stretching from Caprock country to the Canadian River, the ranch includes high mesas, open range, sheltered draws and river bottoms. The property also has eight major creek basins and natural springs, with the Ogallala Aquifer beneath the land. There are 64 water wells that serve livestock and wildlife across the ranch. There are five irrigation pivots that cover 838 acres.

Back in the 1950s, when drought struck, the family began building earthen dams to slow runoff and protect the soil. Over the decades, this conservation work continued. In 2016, Turkey Track was named a regional honouree of the Environmental Stewardship Award Program for its land and water management.“I have represented some of the great ranches of the American West, and Turkey Track belongs in their company. The water here is extraordinary, the legacy and history incredible. It is a best-in-class and rarity both. Available legacy ranches with this scale, production, recreation and history are today few and far between, scarce anywhere in the American West. Nearly 80,000 acres under one fence, a 25 per cent mineral stake and more than a century of family ownership make this a very rare offering. This is a ranch you buy with the next hundred years in mind,” Bernard Uechtritz, the founder of the real-estate brokerage handling the sale of Turkey Track Ranch, said.

The ranch also includes the sites of the 1864 and 1874 Adobe Walls battles. Its brand dates back to 1878, while W. T. Coble acquired the original ranch headquarters in 1916. More than 100 years of Coble and Whittenburg family ownership have shaped the ranch. According to the brokerage firm, the 77,721-acre ranch is a rare opportunity to own a landmark of American ranching and shape its future for generations to come.