The historic Turkey Track Ranch in the Texas Panhandle is back on the market for $180 million, about two years after the Smokehouse Creek Fire tore through the property.
The 77,721-acre ranch is being offered with a 25% mineral stake and stretches from the Caprock to the Canadian River, with about 26 miles of river frontage. The property has been under Coble and Whittenburg family ownership for more than a century.
The ranch was pulled from the market after the 2024 wildfire as the land recovered. Now, Icon Global, which is marketing the property, says native vegetation, pastures and wildlife have rebounded, 65 miles of new fencing have been installed and the cattle operation is back in full swing.
What happened to Turkey Track Ranch?
Turkey Track Ranch was already a historic Texas
property when it went on the market.
The ranch was first listed in 2021, marking the first time in more than a century that the property was offered for sale. The Coble and Whittenburg families had stewarded the ranch for generations.
Before the fire, the ranch was marketed as a rare combination of grasslands, wildlife, water resources and Texas history. Then Smokehouse Creek swept across the Panhandle in February 2024.
The ranch was among the properties hit by the fire, which burned through rangeland, pastures and creek bottoms. The sale was subsequently put on hold while the property recovered. About 46,000 acres of Turkey Track's rangeland burned, according to Icon Global, or roughly 60% of the property's rangeland.
The initial damage assessment was even more stark when looking at vegetation. Ranch officials estimated about 80% of the ranch's pastures, plains and creek-bottom vegetation had been lost.
The fire affected more than just grass. Livestock, wildlife habitat, fencing and other ranch infrastructure were also damaged across Turkey Track and neighboring properties.
In reporting for the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal shortly after the fire, Turkey Track officials described the loss of livestock, crops, wildlife, fencing and infrastructure across the property as "unparalleled."
How big was the Smokehouse Creek Fire?
The Smokehouse Creek Firebecame the largest wildfire in recorded Texas history.
The fire began Feb. 26, 2024, in Hutchinson County. Within days, it grew from tens of thousands of acres to more than 1 million acres.
It ultimately burned more than 1 million acres across the Texas Panhandle and into western Oklahoma. The fire killed people and livestock and destroyed hundreds of structures across the region.
The scale of the fire put Turkey Track's losses into perspective: about 46,000 acres of the ranch's rangeland burned in a blaze that ultimately covered more than 1 million acres.
What is the history of Turkey Track Ranch?
Turkey Track's history reaches back well before its modern cattle operation.
The ranch encompasses the sites of the 1864 and 1874 Battles of Adobe Walls, significant events in the history of the Texas Panhandle.
Its ranch brand dates to 1878.
W.T. Coble acquired the original headquarters property in 1916, beginning the more than century-long Coble and Whittenburg family connection to the ranch.
The ranch developed during the same era as several of the Texas cattle kingdoms that became synonymous with the state's ranching history, including the W.T. Waggoner, 6666 and Goodnight ranches.
The Coble and Whittenburg families eventually decided to sell after more than a century of stewardship, citing the family's growth and geographic distance from the property when the ranch was first listed.
Brandi D. Addison covers weather across the nation as the Weather Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network and contributes to Texas Connect coverage across the state. She can be reached at baddison@usatodayco.com. Follow her on Facebook here.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Turkey Track Ranch returns to market for $180 million after wildfire
