Camp Cooley auctioned for $28.5 million
cassie.smith@theeagle.com
By CASSIE SMITH
The auction of historic Camp Cooley drew bidders from across the globe.
But the winner was a company not too far away: Circle X Land and Cattle Company of Bryan purchased the nearly 11,000-acre property for $28.5 million.
Twenty-two qualified bidders, along with their families, attorneys and consultants, attended the private auction on Aug. 4, said Scott Shuman, head of Hall and Hall Auctions, which conducted the sale along with Great Estates Ranches & Real Estate Worldwide.
The price included surface and mineral and royalty interests, he said. All equipment and personal property was offered through a separate transaction.
Camp Cooley was facing bankruptcy so the auction was private, Shuman said. Bidders had to show financial stability -- $20 million in cash -- and put 5 percent down in order to be invited, he said.
"It was kind of an exciting time," he said about the almost 100 people who showed up for the auction.
Camp Cooley is the largest ranch in Robertson County and is known for its history.
It's also recognized as one of the oldest exotic game preserve ranches in the country.
With about 7,400 acres of pastureland, 1,000 acres of high-fenced exotic game preserve land and another 1,400 acres of wetlands, the ranch served as a recruitment camp under Capt. Charles G. Cooley during the Civil War, according to its website.
Two calves were cloned by scientists at the ranch in 1998 and a consistent herd of Brangus cows have been maintained for the last 15 years.
Former owner Klaus Birkel took reins of the ranch operations two decades ago.
The ranch was also a vacation place for dignitaries and politicians such as President Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1960s.
Bernard Uechtritz of Great Estates Ranches called Camp Cooley one of the most beautiful ranches in the nation because of its topography, lakes, meadows and other features.
"Camp Cooley is a major brand name," he said.
Despite its beauty, the ranch was a hard sell, he said.
For the past several years, Uechtritz said, the ranch has been involved in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and skeptics doubted it could be sold because of a "market stigma."
In November 2010, he said, he created a settlement agreement between two banks and the borrower that allowed him to begin marketing the ranch. That agreement was in a document sealed by the court.
"We were in the middle of serious negotiations for selling the ranch when all of a sudden the sealed document was leaked," he said. "That made all the buyers stop. That really made it difficult."
That's when a judge ordered the invitation-only auction, he said.
Circle X Land and Cattle Company plans to keep Camp Cooley a working ranch, Uechtritz said.
"They got an amazing deal. It was the deal of the century," he said.
