Ross, I love what you’ve done with the place!
If you like Texas ranch stories, there’s a little bit of Yellowstone in this one.
Ross Perot Jr. and his Hillwood Co. own the beautiful Circle T Ranch in Westlake, one of the last great undeveloped ranches in Dallas/Fort Worth. About 2,500 acres of rolling hills, trees and open prairie.
I was lucky to attend a “Party in the Pasture” fundraiser Saturday night for Metroport Meals on Wheels at the Circle T Ranch owned by Perot and his Hillwood Co.
It’s the first time I’ve visited the ranch in several years. I have to say, its re-do is marvelous. A beautiful barn and meeting space have been built. The place is a party palace. World class to use a favorite Perot family expression.
But as I stood there taking it all in, I thought about the two previous owners, Glenn Turner and Nelson Bunker Hunt. If you like Texas ranch stories, there’s a little bit of Yellowstone in this one.
Here’s how I describe it in my popular book, Searching for Perot: My Journey to Discover Texas’ Top Family.
As I wrote:
J. Glenn Turner. He’s the T in Circle T Ranch.
Turner sounds like some kind of genius. In addition to amassing his 2,300-acre beauty in the 1950’s, he was a successful Dallas lawyer with a specialty in mineral law. He was, at 34, the youngest president of the Dallas Bar Association. He later served as president of the state bar. But his heart was in ranching.
He and his wife, Sue Reeder Turner, built lakes, cleared brush and planted lush grass seed.
They raised Tennessee Walking Horses, known for their calm disposition and distinctive gait, and championship Charolais cattle, a breed from France.
A few years after he bought the ranch, Turner and his neighbors — they all lived in an unincorporated area — heard rumors that a neighboring adjacent city might annex their properties. Worried about poor city service and unwanted tax bills, the residents just formed their own town.
In 1956 they voted 27-2 to create Westlake.
The first town meeting was held at Turner’s ranch house. His property was the first on the list to be placed within the new town’s boundaries, followed by most of his neighbors. Westlake had no property tax, a tradition that lasted half a century.
Glenn Turner
When he was in his 60s Turner sold the ranch to Nelson Bunker Hunt, son of one of the richest men in the world, oilman H.L. Hunt. Bunker Hunt kept the Circle T name but changed its emphasis to breeding champion thoroughbreds. He built a racetrack on the property, the outline of which you could still see decades later.
Legend has it that one of the greatest financial scams of all time was hatched at the ranch’s kitchen table between Bunker Hunt and his brother Herbert.
It was 1970, and they were talking to a commodities broker who said words they surely came to regret: “You should consider silver.”
The brothers considered it, all right. They bought as much as they could get. Reports credited them with owning about a third of the world’s silver — 59 million ounces. They cornered the market, people said.
But of course, it was too much. The market collapsed. The brothers lost a billion dollars. Bunker Hunt had to sell his horses with their stellar bloodlines. He filed bankruptcy and lost the Circle T, too.
In 1988 a federal jury found the brothers guilty of illegally manipulating the world silver market and ordered them to pay more than $130 million to a Peruvian mining company. No criminal charges were ever filed.
Nelson Bunker Hunt
Ross Jr. bought the ranch while it was in bankruptcy. He’s owned it for 30 years. Like I said, it’s a party palace without peer.
Note to EDSers: At least twice in recent years, Ross Jr. has hosted the symphony for outdoor concerts. I’m sure many of you attended Ross Sr.’s concerts he hosted for Electronic Data Systems employees and their families on the EDS campus..
There’s something about the Circle T, a certain kind of magic, good and bad, that makes big things happen there.
Note: This is one of dozens of stories in the book Searching for Perot: My Journey to Discover Texas’ Top Family.
