Burnett Horse Ranch
Burkburnett, Wichita County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In the 1870s, Samuel Burk Burnett started the 6666 (four sixes) ranch in Wichita County. Cattle operations were near the center of the county. Drought in the 1880s led Burnett and other ranchers to lease thousands of acres of grazing land from the Comanche and Kiowa tribes across the Red River in Indian Territory. Burnett purchased land for a horse ranch along the red. During this time the 6666 saw its greatest period of expansion, and Burnett improved the quality of his cattle and horses through selective breeding. When 6666 headquarters moved to King County, Burk’s son, Tom Burnett, kept ranching in Wichita County. The family sold the horse ranch in 1906, and the headquarters house burned in the 1940s.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In the 1870s cattleman Samuel Burk Burnett launched his famous 6666 (Four Sixes) ranch in Wichita County. When drought struck the 1880s, Burnett and neighboring ranchers leased vast grazing lands from the Comanche and Kiowa across the Red River in Indian Territory, and he acquired land for a dedicated horse ranch during the outfit's greatest years of expansion and selective breeding. His son Tom kept ranching in the county after headquarters moved to King County; the family sold the horse ranch in 1906.
Why it matters
The Burnett empire embodies the golden age of the open-range cattle business and its complex, contested reliance on leased Native lands as Anglo ranching swept the Southern Plains.
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Related people
- · Samuel Burk Burnett
- · Tom Burnett
Themes & tags
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