Bob Funk Sr.
HIS LIFE. HIS LEGACY.
HISTORICAL VALUE TO SHARE
A place that inspires with magnificent beauty and history.
An enthusiast of the American West (and having grown the Express Ranches Angus Purebred Seed Stock Operation to the top of its industry), Bob acquired the historic UU Bar and Mora Ranches in 2006. The ranch compilation totals approximately 180,000 acres in NE New Mexico providing beautiful high-altitude rangeland so as to further development of Express Ranches’ world-renown genetics program.
There is much to be said about the history of the Express UU Bar. Years ago settlers of all kinds passed through New Mexico on the Santa Fe Trail, making a long journey in the search of prosperity.
Originally part of Lucien B. Maxwell’s Maxwell Land Grant, the UU Bar was part of the largest land grant ever, making its original owner Lucien B. Maxwell the largest single landowner in the Western Hemisphere. In the southeast corner of Colfax County in present day New Mexico lays the history of Rayado.
In 1848 and 1849 Lucien B. Maxwell along with his friend Kit Carson would establish the township and ranch settlement of Rayado, being named for the creek on which it sat. The land would also be home to some of the US Calvary. Fort Union, the largest fort in the west sat near Rayado, and served as a safe haven for many travelers on the Santa Fe Trail. As time passed, the Maxwell Land Grant would fall into the hands of two brothers, and in 1927 Waite Phillips would buy 500,000 acres and build Villa Philmont.
Phillips would then later give 37,000 acres to the Boy Scouts of America. The Philmont Boy Scout Ranch borders the UU Bar today, and both ranches share much of the same history, as neighbors. Phillip’s original ranch would eventually pass through several ownerships over the years. Under the ownership of Bob Funk, it hosts one of the largest native elk populations in North America.
Bob can often be seen doctoring his coffee near the UU Bar kitchen, sporting his ten gallon cowboy hat and his genuinely infectious smile. Through his Express UU Bar ranch management team under John and Teri Caid, Bob trusts you will enjoy authentic hospitality, comfortable settings and a special connection to this beautiful property. Upon your personal visit, Bob hopes you have a chance to celebrate its breathtaking vistas, trophy wildlife, its native peoples, outlaw hideouts, the historic Santa Fe Trail and America’s Western values.
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funk ranks as 74th landowner
Oklahoma City-based businessman and landowner Bob Funk has made the list of the nation's top 100 landowners by The Land Report for the 10th straight year. Funk ranked 74th among the nation's largest landowners in the current list with 175,000 acres of land in six locations across Oklahoma, New Mexico and South Dakota.
The Land Report is a quarterly magazine that publishes an annual list of the nation's top property owners determined by the number of acres they own in the United States. Funk's land assets include the UU Bar Ranch in northern New Mexico, the historic St. James Hotel in Cimarron, New Mexico, and Express Ranches near Yukon. Funk is the chairman, CEO and co-founder of Express Employment Professionals, based in Oklahoma City. “I have always been a cowboy at heart and look to exemplify the cowboy standard through my values and lifestyle,” Funk said in a statement. “My family and I are committed to leaving the land better than we found it.”