First time ever sold, historic Johnson Ranch land sells for $10,774,400

GOLDSBY, Oklahoma (June 23, 2017) -- Until land known as the Johnson Ranch sold at auction on Wednesday, nobody could say exactly what it was worth. That's because the land had never been offered to the public.

But that changed when bidders gathered for the auction of the 2,139 acres, conducted by Schrader Real Estate and Auction Company. The verdict on value: $10,774,400.

"An auction will generally settle the issue of value, and we had a lot of bidders who were willing to bid good prices," said R.D. Schrader, president of the auction company.

The property sold in 38 tracts, with a dozen bidders ultimately emerging as successful buyers. "We had a good mix of buyers, including investors, developers and home site buyers, with some buying as few as 10 acres and someone else buying 951 acres," said Schrader.

Montford Johnson, who was raised by his Chickasaw grandmother, assembled the land more than 140 years ago, and the family had owned it ever since.

The story of Montford will be featured in the upcoming film, The Chickasaw Rancher. But while the excitement over the film helped draw attention to the land, most bidders were focused on the quality of the land, according to Brent Wellings, who manages Schrader's operations in the Southwest.

"There's a lot of excitement locally about the upcoming film, but mainly, I think folks just saw the chance to own some really good farmland and development property," said Wellings.

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