Union Center Ranch

Description

Western Oklahoma is different than the rest of the state. It's a place where the open expanses give you an unimpeded view of the sky and the beauty of the land is doubled by the colors of the heavens. Here, the waving of the tall grass allows you to see the ebb and flow of the invisible wind as it blows across the land. Although it looks open, the roll of the land hides abundant wildlife and interesting landforms in an intricate maze of twisting, turning drainages that descend from the hills down into the creek bottoms. Western Oklahoma is a place that's too dry to farm, but somehow the land always seems to produce. A place where ponds and small creeks stubbornly remain even when the skies refuse to rain. It's a place where density of mankind is low enough that you can still be free.

The Union Center Ranch has been in the Savage Family since the mid-1940s. This 631-acre ranch is located at the transition between rolling hills of Roger Mills County and the Nine Mile Creek basin. With public road access via the paved N 970 Road that splits an 80-acre tract from the main body of the ranch and the graveled N960, E900 and E890 Roads, any part of the ranch is easy to reach. In addition, a series of nicely improved all-weather oil field roads provide access to every part of the interior of the ranch. The ranch is located about a mile north of Highway 33 and 25 miles north of Interstate 40 at Elk City. The ranch is a 2-hour drive from Oklahoma City.  

Union Center Ranch offers a very diverse set of features. For the farmer and rancher, it offers 85 acres of creek bottom meadows carpeted with bermuda grass over Class 2 soils and rolling hills covered with prairie grass. The creek bottom would also be good for those who want to grow alfalfa or wheat crops. With good fences and cross fences, the property is set up to rotate the cattle through four pastures with water supplied by the creek, ponds and water wells. There is also access to the Roger Mills Rural Water District 2 water mains that run along the frontage. Water is a big key to production in this semi-arid part of Oklahoma, and having access to surface water, ground water and rural water is a big advantage.

Wildlife depends on water just as much as the cattle do. While on the property, we saw multiple groups of ducks on the ponds. The ranch is 14 miles from Foss Lake and the Washita Wildlife Refuge. With a little management and cultivation of the creek bottom, we think the ranch could offer some quality waterfowl hunting. We saw quite a bit of deer sign in the wooded draws and the same management efforts would benefit the deer hunting also. We were not able to locate any coveys of quail and saw limited amounts of quail forage. Management of the property for quail hunting would likely require limiting grazing along the draws to leave better cover and food sources. While on site filming, we also spent some time fishing the larger lake and caught a bass that weighed approximately 3 pounds. Based on the measurements listed on the NRCS lake monument, the lake covers 7 surface acres. The smaller pond measures about 2 acres on the available aerials.

Lastly, for someone wanting to homestead, this property offers multiple great building spots with beautiful views. We could easily imagine a nice home overlooking the 7-acre lake from the north bank taking advantage of the utilities and the road access shortly north of that location. The future of this property all depends on what the next owner wants. If it's recreational, remove the cattle and plant the creek bottom meadows in crops to pull in the deer and waterfowl. Restoration of quail habitat would require establishing a more robust growth and variety of quail forage. For the farmer or rancher, the property is ready to go with its fences, fields, working pens and water. If it's a homesite you are seeking, then come out and pick your favorite view. For more information or to schedule a showing, please call Colton Coale at (405) 615-7645.