REAL ESTATE: JOHN WAYNE, “THE DUKE” HAD TIES TO STANFIELD ARIZONA 24 acre gentleman’s ranch for sale! ARTICLE BY JIM OLSON 520-705-8868
I
n the late 1950s, American icon John Wayne bought a 4,000-acre cotton farming operation near Stanfield, Arizona on the advice of his financial advisor. In a short time, the famous actor knew he was in trouble. He was losing money in the farming business. His financial advisor, who was running the farm, didn’t know any more about cotton than Wayne did—maybe less. He needed
PG. 46 :: SPRING 2020
to do something about his farm and he needed to do it sooner than later. John Wayne needed to replace his farm management. As fate would have it, when he asked around about who the best in the business might be to help him with his cotton farm, he was put into contact with Louis Johnson, who owned the farm next door. At first Johnson turned down the offer to manage Wayne’s farm, because he
was already busy enough. Later, however, the two men had a long visit and got along wonderfully. At that meeting, “Louie” and “Duke” started a lifelong friendship. A partnership for the ages was born. Over the years the “Red River Land Co.” as it was known was increased to a 14,000-acre operation. The partnership expanded and soon built an 85,000-head cattle-feeding operation known as Red River Feedlot. Other ventures and a ranch near Springerville were added as well. The partnership of John Wayne and Louis Johnson literally made millions of dollars over the years. Both have been quoted as saying they never had a disagreement. Not only were they great business partners, but good friends first. This well-known partnership came to an end when John Wayne died on June 11, 1979. They would probably be partners to this day if the men were both still alive. After Wayne’s death, Red River Land Co. was sold. Famed businessman Karl Eller bought it (the business, property and name) and over the years it was sold off in tracts of between several hundred to thousands of acres. Most of it remains in agriculture production to this day. The last of the original Red River place owned by the Red River Land Co. (which is how Karl Eller bought the property, name and all), was purchased by Jim and Bobbi Jeen Olson and a partner in 2002. As a result of that deal, the Olsons wound up with over 100 adjoining acres. They immediately went to work building a dream place they felt the Duke would approve of. They wanted to build a western show place! The drive way is one of the old dirt runway air strips that was used by crop dusters on the Red River fields. Rumor has it the Duke himself used to land there in a private plane when he wanted to go bird hunting. The place was built with the idea, if John Wayne was to make a modern-
