B-Square Ranch manager says little will change in wake of owner Tommy Bolack's death

Owner Tommy Bolack may be gone, but his sprawling B-Square Ranch — at 12,451 acres, said to be the largest piece of privately owned contiguous property in San Juan County — will continue to operate largely as it did under Bolack’s leadership, the ranch manager said.

The 73-year-old Bolack — best known for the annual Fourth of July fireworks shows he conducted from the Shannon Bluffs that overlooked Farmington — was found dead at the ranch just south of Farmington on May 1 by ranch employees. Ranch manager David Lawson said Bolack’s body was taken to Albuquerque for an autopsy to confirm he died of natural causes, then was due to be cremated.

Lawson said May 10 the details of a memorial service for Bolack were still being worked out, but he envisioned a public event taking place sometime in the next couple of weeks.

Bolack, the son of former New Mexico Gov. Tom Bolack, placed the ranch in two conservation easements in 2021 with the assistance of the nonprofit New Mexico Land Conservancy, a move that assured that the ranch would remain free from the threat of subdivision or additional commercial development in perpetuity.

He also created a foundation that would inherit the ranch upon his death, assuming management of the property.

“For 30 years, I have always wanted to make sure the ranch remains intact,” Bolack said in 2021 after announcing the move. “I set up a foundation with exactly that goal and objective. … This is another way to make doubly sure my wishes were carried out.”

According to The Daily Times archives, Bolack inherited the ranch from his father, who died in 1998. The ranch was founded in the 1950s as a 50-acre plot that once was a dairy, but its size was increased exponentially through three significant acquisitions in the 1970s and 1980s.

More: Future of B Square Ranch secured for owner Tommy Bolack thanks to conservation easements

Much of the land that was added to the ranch had once been the property of the federal Bureau of Land Management, and Bolack noted in a 2021 interview with The Daily Times that it took him years to clean up the property after the way it had been abused by members of the public when it belonged to the federal government.

“Notice you don’t see a bunch of trash? It took me about six years to make it that way,” he said while leading a reporter on a tour of the ranch.

Keeper of the Bolack family vision

Lawson said he has worked for the Bolack family for 47 years and is determined to maintain their vision for the ranch in their absence. He said he considered Tommy Bolack more than his boss.

“If you’re going to hang out with somebody for 47 years, you’re going to become friends,” he said.

Lawson said his job description changed little over the years, as it was always his task “to do what they wanted done to build the ranch.”

He said Tommy Bolack had a big heart and generously supported the causes and organizations he believed in, be it the San Juan County Sheriff’s Posse or the Salvation Army.

“There were so many things he believed in,” Lawson said. “And if he believed in it, he was all about it.”

More: Farmington rancher remains proud steward of Cadillac once owned by Elvis Presley

Lawson said the museums that operate on the ranch will be cleaned up and remain open to the public by appointment, with their extensive collections remaining intact. Bolack was known for acquiring and preserving vintage aircraft, a railroad locomotive, a World War II era tank, a stage coach and, of course, a gold 1965 Cadillac Eldorado convertible once owned by Elvis Presley.

“That stuff will stay,” he said.

Bolack’s purchase of the King’s Caddy was a sign of another one of his passions — music. Bolack hosted two shows a week on local radio stations and had a collection of vinyl 45 rpm singles that numbered in the hundreds of thousands, in addition to owning dozens of vintage jukeboxes.

More: Here comes the boom: Tommy Bolack prepares his arsenal for Farmington fireworks show

But Bolack was best known for the extravagant Fourth of July fireworks displays he used to orchestrate each year. Bolack, a licensed pyrotechnics expert, would spend months and tens of thousands of dollars preparing the shells for the show each year, all for the enjoyment of the tens of thousands of spectators who gathered on the city’s south side at dusk on Independence Day to each year to take in the festivities.

As for the ranch, Lawson said he intends to make as few changes to the day-to-day operations of the property as he can.

“As small an amount as I can get by with,” he said, explaining that the B-Square will continue to be operated as a working cattle ranch with oil wells, a wildlife refuge and a hay-farming operation.

“I’m just going to step it up a notch to accomplish what they wanted, and that was for this to be a jewel in the Southwest,” Lawson said.

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This article originally appeared on Farmington Daily Times: B-Square Ranch owner Tommy Bolack was found dead on ranch on May 1