John joined Hall and Hall to set up and run our Kansas office in 2010. He has marketed farms, ranches, equestrian centers, cattle feed yards, and agricultural water rights throughout Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona. Born and raised in Kansas, John grew up around ranching and ranch real estate. John attended Kansas State University, became a licensed pilot and joined his father at Doug Wildin & Associates Ranch Brokers in 1978. Since then he has successfully marketed hundreds of thousands of acres of farm and ranch real estate. He has spent his career developing personal and business relationships with many agricultural producers throughout the United States and serving their real estate needs in an ethical and service oriented manner. His decades of farming and ranching experience served as a background for his broad working knowledge of all phases of livestock and farm production agriculture. John loves the outdoors and relishes time spent at his second home in the Colorado mountains. John resides in Hutchinson, Kansas and has two grown children.
Elizabeth Eakins Wigglesworth – founder of the noted carpet and textile firm Elizabeth Eakins, Inc. – is offering for sale her 240± acre ranch located in the Flint Hills of Kansas. At the heart of the ranch lies the homestead that was established some 150 years ago by Andrew W. Nordeen, an immigrant from Sweden, who built the ranch house out of limestone rock he quarried from one of the pastures on this ranch.
Today, the Wigglesworth Ranch is a sanctuary of unique country living in a setting that includes a professionally refurbished native stone home, a charming guest house, and several outbuildings, all surrounded by an ample amount of hardwood trees. This homestead is sited on a very diverse tract of land that has gently rolling hills covered in native tall grasses, wildflowers, and several crop fields of alfalfa. There are two attractive spring-fed ponds and a meandering tree-covered creek traversing the property.
This part of the Flint Hills has a gentler roll to it, which results in little to no rocky wasteland. The homestead is centrally located in the east 160-acre tract. This tract is cross-fenced into ten different pastures to accommodate the owners’ 130-head Border Leicester sheep operation, which was recently discontinued. The fencing is either five-strand barbed wire, woven wire, or a combination of the two. This parcel has two spring-fed ponds, one to the east of the homestead and the other pond with an island in the middle of it, south of the homestead. In the southwest pasture of this tract, you can still see traces of the quarry, which was the source of limestone for the house back in 1876. The west 80-acre parcel is all under one fence. Three alfalfa crop fields are interspersed by seven native grass meadows, some of which are lined by rows of hardwood trees and grassed waterways. Lairds Creek winds through this area and can provide a dependable water resource for wildlife.
The Wigglesworth Ranch is a true opportunity to own an outstanding piece of land in the Kansas Flint Hills with stunning accommodations. Stewardship has been the owner’s goal from the beginning to leave this land in even better condition than when they acquired it in 2004. They have worked continuously to not only take care of various native grass species and the many wildflowers but also to improve the land. The soils are so rich in nutrients that one can see terraces across some of the meadows where this land was farmed many years ago.
This level of stewardship, along with the spring-fed draws—two with ponds, Laird’s Creek, and the numerous pastures ringed by tree rows and grassed waterways makes the Wigglesworth Ranch a true wildlife refuge. The marvelous limestone house was thoroughly refurbished and enlarged to create a living area of over 4,000± square feet for a comfortable four-bedroom residence in 1996. To provide a snapshot of how the owners have taken great care in creating this amazing setting. Since 2022, the house has been totally updated, including new roofs, new appliances, additional structural improvements, and any necessary repairs made.
The charming guest house just steps away can accommodate four overnight guests in an exquisite setting. Nestled amongst large hardwood trees and invisible from the nearest road, this private sanctuary is unparalleled. This is true fashionable living tucked away in the Kansas Flint Hills.
The ranch lies off a gravel road located in Morris County, near the town of Dwight. It lies 115 miles to Wichita, 132 miles from Kansas City, 60 miles from Salina, and 35 miles from Manhattan - home of Kansas State University – all having commercial airline services, full or limited.
Wigglesworth Ranch is perfectly situated in the Kansas Flint Hills. All but thirty acres are native tall grasses – big and little bluestem, Indian grass, switchgrass, and more – which are adorned by many varieties of wildflowers throughout the growing season, scattered among the rolling hills and along the creeks and springs in meadows and pastures which are separated by stands of towering trees and, of course, provide unmatched habitat for wildlife - whitetail deer, turkey, and many other upland birds. From the controlled prairie fires in the spring through the changes in the color of all the flora throughout the year, nature’s beauty is always manifest.
Many agricultural pursuits abound throughout the area, whether it’s livestock or farming-related, both small-scale and large. They provide economic support alongside K-12 education and various other government offices/facilities. The tourism component has grown in recent times, and recreation has a strong presence in the region’s lakes and rivers. Whether it’s hiking, biking, water sports, or fishing and hunting, there are so many opportunities to get out and enjoy some of nature’s beauty in whatever pursuit you may choose.
The Flint Hills
The Flint Hills are in the eastern third of Kansas and contain most of the four percent remaining of the original 140 million acres of native tallgrass prairie. The rainfall averages 34 inches per year and the limestone rock underlying the topsoil allows the roots of the grasses to follow water some ten feet and more below the surface to allow for the hardiness and ability to withstand unusually dry weather patterns.
Cattle easily gain weight on these rich grasses, and cattle ranching continues to be the main driver of local economies. The principal grass, one of several others, is called “big bluestem,” and it is by that term that the grasses in the region are known.
The average high temperature in January is 40 degrees, and the average high temperature in July is 91 degrees. The average annual precipitation is 34 inches. The ranch averages around 186 frost-free days yearly. There are annually around 186 days of growing season. Elevation ranges from 1,380 feet to 1,455 feet above sea level.
The farmhouse was built and “finished” by Andrew W. Nordeen in 1876. It was substantially repaired in the 1990s, and further improvements have been made by the current owners since their purchase in 2004. Originally built out of limestone rock quarried on the ranch, when it was repaired in the 1990s, a frame addition was added to bring the overall livable square footage to approximately 4,200. Remodeled in 2022, this four-bedroom house is a story-and-a-half with a finished walk-out basement.
The guest house, built in 2010, has one bedroom/family room plus a full bath and can sleep four guests. The beams and bathroom walls are covered in wood, taken from an old barn on the property that collapsed many years ago. The limestone used for the foundation was also rescued from the remnants of that barn.
There is a two-car detached garage, a metal building with an insulated shop with a concrete floor, and a Morton building.
Water for the two houses comes from Rural Water District #1. Water consumed by the livestock on this ranch has come from either of the two fresh spring-fed ponds or Lairds Creek. Because of its central location to which rural water is supplied, rural water is available through hydrants to several pastures adjoining the homestead.
The seller believes all mineral rights are intact and are included in the listing price.
Real estate taxes levied in November 2023 were $8,908.66, of which $3,123.94 was designated for agriculture and $5,784.72 for homestead.
He went above and beyond and found property that wasn’t even on the open market yet.
My experience with Hall and Hall went very smoothly and professionally, from the very first meeting to the closing and the continued follow-up after. Not only were all my questions and concerns handled but it was done quickly and to the point. Robb Nelson handled the sale of my South Dakota...
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