The 6666 Ranch (also known as the Four Sixes Ranch or Quad Sixes) 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.Tom Ryan & The 6666 Ranch of King County, Texas

National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, with more than 28,000 American West, Western and Native Americans in the United States, American Indian art works and Artifact (archaeology), ar ...

: Donald C. & Elizabeth M. Dickinson Research CenterAbout 6666 Ranch
/ref> It spans 350,000 acres of land.Erin Davies
The Biggest Ranches
'' Texas Monthly'', August 1998 The main ranch house is off U.S. Highway 82.H. Allen Anderson, "FOUR SIXES RANCH," Handbook of Texas Online (https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/apf01), accessed November 09, 2014. Uploaded on June 12, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association. The Dixon Creek section spans 108,000 acres of land in Carson and Hutchinson counties. The Dixon Creek runs through this section of the ranch near Panhandle, Texas.

History

The ranch was established by Samuel Burk Burnett in 1900 after he purchased the land from the Louisville Land and Cattle Company. Legend has it that he won the ranch from a card game, where he scored four sixes. However, Burnett and his descendants have denied this folklore tale. Instead, the name comes from the first herd he raised on the ranch, which was branded "6666". Burnett raised purebred

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...

s and Durham bulls, which won national prizes at livestock shows all over the United States. He also bred purebred quarter horses. In 1918, 2,000 head of cattle were killed by a blizzard. Three years later, in 1921, oil was found on the ranch, thus turning it into a very profitable enterprise. After Burnett's death in 1920, the ranch was inherited by his granddaughter, Anne Valliant Burnett Tandy. She purchased

Grey Badger II Grey Badger II (1941– 1972) was a noted Quarter Horse match racer and sire in the early days of the American Quarter Horse Association or AQHA. Life Grey Badger II foaled on May 5, 1941.Simmons, et al. ''Legends 2'' p. 58 He was registered w ...

and Hollywood Gold, two show horses which lived on the ranch. By 1936, there were 20,000 Hereford cattle on the ranch. In the 1960s and 1970s, the barn on the ranch was used in advertisements for Marlboro, the cigarette brand. In 1975, scenes of the movie ''

Mackintosh and T.J. ''Mackintosh and T.J.'' is a 1975 American modern day Western film starring Roy Rogers in his last feature film appearance in a film that was specifically written for him. Prior to this film his most recent feature film appearances were in the ...

'' were filmed on the ranch. In 1980, the ranch was passed on to Burnett's great-granddaughter, Anne Windfohr Marion, and his great-great-granddaughter, Wendi Grimes. Marion co-managed the ranch with her fourth husband,

John L. Marion John L. Marion is an American auctioneer and philanthropist. He served as the Chairman of Sotheby's () from 1975 to 1994. Early life John L. Marion was born in Gardiner, New York.

. They have bred Brangus cattle with Herefords to produce the Black Baldy, a cattle breed resistant to cedar flies. A hundred

broodmare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...

s are bred on the ranch every year. , the ranch was being sold in accordance with the will of Anne Burnett Marion, the owner who died in February 2020. It was listed on the market for a total of $347.7 million. In May 2021, a buyer group represented by western filmmaker Taylor Sheridan purchased the ranch. Paintings depicting portions of the ranch have been painted by Tom Ryan and Mondel Rogers. A barn from the ranch has been moved to the National Ranching Heritage Center in

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...

In popular culture

An eponymously named 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.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Ranches in Texas King County, Texas Carson County, Texas Hutchinson County, Texas 1900 establishments in Texas