‘Wild Tuna’ creator Craig Piligian snaps up a historical spot in rural Kansas

Unscripted television king Craig Piligian has gone off the beaten path in a recent home purchase. The founder and chief executive of Pilgrim Studios and his wife, actress-dancer Lucinda Piligian, recently bought a historical ranch property in Reno County, Kan., at auction for $5.325 million.

Known as Yaggy Plantation, the 1884 property includes five tracts spanning 1,260 acres. It had been owned by the same family for 130 years prior to the sale.

Once a large shipping point for produce between Missouri and California, the plantation includes two period homes, including an 1892 manufactured home by Sears and Roebuck. Sears and Roebuck homes could be ordered by catalog and were shipped down the Mississippi River or delivered by rail, as was the one on the property.

The other house, built in 1905, has five bedrooms and a third-floor ballroom. The Piligians intend to restore the Sears and Roebuck home as well as continue the farming operation, according to Kansas Agland.

Currently on the grounds, which borders one mile of the Arkansas River, are fields of irrigated farmland and dryland acreage as well as thick forests of hardwood and softwood trees. Wild whitetail, quail, pheasant and other game roam freely throughout acres of conservation space.

Scott Shuman and John Wildin of Hall & Hall handled the auction and listing.

Craig Piligian is the creator and producer of such shows as “American Chopper,” “The Ultimate Fighter” and “Wild Tuna.” He won an Emmy in 2001 for his work on the competition reality series “Survivor.”

Lucinda Piligian, a native of Hutchinson, Kan., appeared in the music-comedy film “Breakin’” and its sequel “Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo.” More recently she served as a judge on the competition series “Master of Dance.”

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