The Four Sixes Ranch, stylized as 6666 Ranch, is a ranch in King County, Texas as well as Carson County and Hutchinson County.
The main section of the ranch is located near the town of Guthrie in King County, Texas. [1] [2] It spans 350,000 acres (1,400 km2) of land. [3] The main ranch house is off U.S. Highway 82. [4] The Dixon Creek section spans 108,000 acres (440 km2) of land in Carson and Hutchinson counties. [4] The Dixon Creek runs through this section of the ranch near Panhandle, Texas. [5] [6]
The ranch was established by Samuel Burk Burnett in 1900 after he purchased the land from the Louisville Land and Cattle Company. [3] [7] Legend has it that he won the ranch from a card game, where he scored four sixes. [3] However, Burnett and his descendants have denied this folklore tale. [3] Instead, the name comes from the first herd he raised on the ranch, which was branded "6666". [3]
Burnett raised purebred Herefords and Durham bulls, which won national prizes at livestock shows all over the United States. [4] He also bred purebred quarter horses. [4] In 1918, 2,000 head of cattle were killed by a blizzard. [4] Three years later, in 1921, oil was found on the ranch, thus turning it into a very profitable enterprise. [4]
After Burnett's death in 1920, the ranch was inherited by his granddaughter, Anne Valliant Burnett Tandy. [7] She purchased Grey Badger II and Hollywood Gold, two show horses which lived on the ranch. [4] By 1936, there were 20,000 Hereford cattle on the ranch. [4] In the 1960s and 1970s, the barn on the ranch was used in advertisements for Marlboro, the cigarette brand. [3] [4] In 1975, scenes of the movie Mackintosh and T.J. were filmed on the ranch. [4]
In 1980, the ranch was passed on to Burnett's great-granddaughter, Anne Windfohr Marion, and his great-great-granddaughter, Wendi Grimes. [4] Marion co-managed the ranch with her fourth husband, John L. Marion. [3] [7] They bred Brangus cattle with Herefords to produce the Black Baldy, a cattle breed resistant to cedar flies. [4] A hundred broodmares are bred on the ranch every year. [7]
As of 3 December 2020 [update] , the ranch was being sold in accordance with the will of owner Anne Burnett Marion, who had died in February that year; it was listed on the market for a total of $347.7 million.[ citation needed ] In May 2021, a buyer group represented by screenwriter Taylor Sheridan purchased the ranch. [8] [9]
Paintings depicting portions of the ranch have been painted by Tom Ryan and Mondel Rogers. [4] A barn from the ranch has been moved to the National Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock, Texas. [4]
An unnamed television series based on the ranch was introduced as a backdoor pilot, during the fourth season of the drama series Yellowstone , released November 7, 2021 via the Paramount+ streaming service. [10]
Sterling County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,372, making it the ninth-least populous county in Texas. Its county seat is Sterling City. The county is named for W. S. Sterling, an early settler in the area. Sterling County was one of 30 prohibition, or entirely dry, counties in the state of Texas, but is now a moist county.
The National Ranching Heritage Center, located on the Texas Tech University campus in Lubbock, Texas, is a unique museum dedicated to preserving and celebrating the history and heritage of ranching in the United States. Established in 1971, the center sits on a 27-acre historical park and features a collection of authentic ranching structures ranging from the 1780s to 1950s that tell the story of ranching in North America.
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Anne Valliant Burnett Tandy was an American heiress, rancher, horse breeder, philanthropist and art collector from Fort Worth, Texas.
The Dixon Creek is a creek in Texas.
Samuel Burk Burnett was an American cattleman and rancher from Texas, owner of the 6666 Ranch, and namesake of Burkburnett, Texas.
Anne Windfohr Marion was an American heiress, rancher, horse breeder, business executive, philanthropist, and art collector from Fort Worth, Texas. She served as the president of Burnett Ranches and the chairman of the Burnett Oil Company. She was the founder of the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In 1981, she was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.
Thomas Lloyd Burnett (1871–1938) was an American rancher from Texas. He owned 449,415 acres of land.
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