In just one $115 million installment — buy a 250,000 acre parcel of Bell Ranch in northeastern New Mexico.
An interesting article in The Albuquerque Journal ($) includes this:
There aren’t many pieces of private land left in this country where a man can stare for miles in any direction and see nothing but his own domain. The Bell is one.
The person who buys it will be the 22nd-largest landowner in the country, according to a ranking The Land Report magazine published in August.
But whoever saddles up to the $115 million asking price will be buying more than just land. They’ll be buying a piece— a very big piece— of history.
The Bell Ranch started to take shape in 1824 when a newly independent Mexico granted 655,000 acres of Indian hunting grounds to Pablo Montoya, a former captain in the Spanish army. It wasn’t until 1872 that cattle were brought to the ranch by its third owner, Wilson Waddingham. A “flamboyant Canadian” who fancied himself an Englishman, Waddingham personified cattle barons of the era and registered the Bell brand in 1874.
Been to the ‘Bell’ several times over the years. A truly magical place. It’s somewhat sad that it’s for sale now if only because it may be broken up into pieces. The pending sale actually split the Lane family to some degree because a few (or one) of the Lane’s didn’t want to leave the ranch and go elsewhere. Don’t let the price tag fool you, it’s a working ranch with real hands, managers, and herds. It’s sale is similar to the closing of an old mom and pop to make way for the development of more Big Box stores (luxury/coporate ranches). Unsettling. I love the Bell.