6666 Ranch

[[File:Red barn at National Ranching Heritage Center, Lubbock, TX IMG 0054.JPG|thumb|right|Red barn from the 6666 Ranch at the National Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock, Texas]]

The '''Four Sixes Ranch''', stylized as '''6666 Ranch''', is a ranch in King County, Texas, as well as Carson County and Hutchinson County.

==Location== The main section of the ranch is located near the town of Guthrie in King County, Texas.<ref name="national">[https://www.nationalcowboymuseum.org/research/exhibits/ryan/default.aspx Tom Ryan & The 6666 Ranch of King County, Texas], National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum: Donald C. & Elizabeth M. Dickinson Research Center</ref><ref name="about6666ranch">[https://www.6666ranch.com/about-6666-ranch.html About 6666 Ranch]</ref> It spans {{cvt|350,000|acre|sqmi km2}} of land.<ref name="erindavies">Erin Davies, [http://www.texasmonthly.com/content/biggest-ranches/page/0/1 "The Biggest Ranches"], ''Texas Monthly'', August 1998</ref> The main ranch house is off U.S. Highway 82.<ref name="texasfour">H. Allen Anderson, [https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/apf01 "FOUR SIXES RANCH"]. ''Handbook of Texas Online'', accessed November 09, 2014. Uploaded on June 12, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.</ref> The Dixon Creek section spans {{cvt|108,000|acre|sqmi km2}} of land in Carson and Hutchinson counties.<ref name="texasfour"/> The Dixon Creek runs through this section of the ranch near Panhandle, Texas.<ref>H. Allen Anderson, [https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/rbd56 "DIXON CREEK (CARSON COUNTY)"], ''Handbook of Texas Online'', accessed November 11, 2014. Uploaded on June 12, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.</ref><ref>Chappell, Henry and Wyman Meinzer. 2004. ''6666: Portrait of a Texas Ranch''. Lubbock, TX: Texas Tech University Press.</ref>

==History== [[File:Texas Cowboys 14.jpg|thumb|A pair of chaps hanging from the ranch's "6666" insignia]] In 1900, Samuel Burk Burnett established the ranch after he purchased the land from the Louisville Land and Cattle Company.<ref name="erindavies"/><ref name="americanquarter">{{Cite web |url=http://www.aqha.com/Museum/Exhibits/War-Horses/Locations/6666-Ranch.aspx |title=American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame & Museum: 6666 Ranch |access-date=November 11, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140702152451/http://www.aqha.com/Museum/Exhibits/War-Horses/Locations/6666-Ranch.aspx |archive-date=July 2, 2014 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> Legend has it that he won the ranch from a card game, where he scored four sixes.<ref name="erindavies"/> However, Burnett and his descendants have denied this folklore tale.<ref name="erindavies"/> Instead, the name comes from the first herd he raised on the ranch, which was branded "6666".<ref name="erindavies"/>

Burnett raised purebred Herefords and Durham bulls, which won national prizes at livestock shows all over the United States.<ref name="texasfour"/> He also bred purebred quarter horses.<ref name="texasfour"/> In 1918, 2,000 head of cattle were killed by a blizzard.<ref name="texasfour"/> Three years later, in 1921, oil was found on the ranch, thus turning it into a very profitable enterprise.<ref name="texasfour"/>

After Burnett's death in 1922, the ranch was inherited by his granddaughter, Anne Valliant Burnett Tandy.<ref name="americanquarter"/> She purchased Grey Badger II and Hollywood Gold, two show horses which lived on the ranch.<ref name="texasfour"/> By 1936, there were 20,000 Hereford cattle on the ranch.<ref name="texasfour"/> In the 1960s and 1970s, the barn on the ranch was used in advertisements for Marlboro, the cigarette brand.<ref name="erindavies"/><ref name="texasfour"/> In 1975, scenes of the movie ''Mackintosh and T.J.'' were filmed on the ranch.<ref name="texasfour"/>

In 1980, the ranch was passed on to Burnett's great-granddaughter, Anne Windfohr Marion, and his great-great-granddaughter, Wendi Grimes.<ref name="texasfour"/> Marion co-managed the ranch with her fourth husband, John L. Marion.<ref name="erindavies"/><ref name="americanquarter"/> They bred Brangus cattle with Herefords to produce the Black Baldy, a cattle breed resistant to cedar flies.<ref name="texasfour"/> A hundred broodmares are bred on the ranch every year.<ref name="americanquarter"/>

{{As of|2020|12|03}}, 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|date=November 2021}} In May 2021, a buyer group represented by screenwriter Taylor Sheridan purchased the ranch.<ref>{{cite news |title=Historic 6666 Ranch Almost Twice the Size of Chicago Gets the Perfect Steward |url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/imagine-all-the-westerns-taylor-sheridan-could-shoot-at-6666-ranch/ |access-date=11 July 2021 |work=Texas Monthly |author=Dan Solomon |date=7 May 2021 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=KCBD Staff |title=Historic west Texas 6666's Ranch sold to 'Yellowstone' creator |url=https://www.kcbd.com/2021/05/03/historic-west-texas-s-ranch-under-contract/ |access-date=11 July 2021 |work=www.kcbd.com |date=3 May 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

Paintings depicting portions of the ranch have been painted by Tom Ryan and Mondel Rogers.<ref name="texasfour"/> A barn from the ranch has been moved to the National Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock, Texas.<ref name="texasfour"/>

==In popular culture== 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.looper.com/679353/yellowstone-6666-release-date-cast-plot/|title=Yellowstone: 6666 Release Date, Cast, And Plot - What We Know So Far|publisher=looper.com|date=21 December 2021|access-date=4 January 2022}}</ref> Signs of the ranch can also be spotted in the drama series ''Landman''.

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons}} *{{Official website}}

Category:Ranches in Texas Category:King County, Texas Category:Carson County, Texas Category:Hutchinson County, Texas Category:1900 establishments in Texas