Yellowstone fans have the Four Sixes Ranch to thank for the ever-expanding Dutton-verse. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, franchise creator Taylor Sheridan admitted that he churns out Yellowstone spinoffs to fund his purchase of the 6666: the historic, 270,000-acre horse and cattle ranch Sheridan bought this year for an eye-popping $350 million. Situated in the Texas Panhandle, the 6666 Ranch covers an area roughly the size of Los Angeles and boasts a century-old mansion, a collection of barns and stables, a private airplane hangar and, yes, plenty of bunkhouses to go around.
The 6666 Ranch was controlled by the Burk Burnett dynasty for 150 years, and it served as the inspiration for Yellowstone‘s Dutton family ranch. Sheridan, a Texas native, has featured the 6666 on Yellowstone since Season 4. He’s also planning a Yellowstone: 6666 spinoff series, to be set at the legendary estate. But now that the prolific writer-director is the primary owner and manager of the ranch’s massive horse and cattle operation, he’s hitting pause on the spinoff series. Sheridan won’t let a rushed-out TV show impact the business of one of the oldest, largest ranches in America. “This is a real place with real families working here. You have to respect the lineage,” Sheridan told THR, adding: “I do the shows for the ranch.”
Take a peek inside the iconic property, and you’ll see exactly what Sheridan means.
Legend has it that the 6666 Ranch was born from a poker game and a winning hand of four sixes. In reality, the ranch was founded in 1870 by Samuel Burk Burnett, a Missourian who built one of America’s most prosperous cattle operations from a single purchase of 100 head. In 1917, Burk Burnett resolved to build “the finest ranch house in West Texas.” The stately main house, located in Guthrie, Texas, still serves as the primary lodging of the Four Sixes ranch owner. Today, Taylor Sheridan lives there with his wife Nicole Muirbrook and their 12-year-old son.
The beautiful, three-story “Big House” is constructed of quarried rock and spans more than 13,000 square feet. An arched stone entrance is etched with Burk Burnett’s initials and the year 1917. The home features 13 bedrooms, 13 bathrooms, 3 powder rooms, 3 fireplaces and not one, but two kitchens. Significant upgrades over the last century have helped keep the stone-covered, wood-paneled mansion in pristine condition.
The Big House is surrounded by mature trees, giving the massive abode a cozy sense of privacy. Inside, rustic furnishings like Southwestern-style wallpaper, antler chandeliers and what looks to be cherry wood paneling make the place fit for a ranching king. Over the years, a number of U.S. presidents have stayed in the home — Teddy Roosevelt among them. Roosevelt had been coyote hunting with Burk Burnett in Wichita County, and at the president’s suggestion, the town of Burkburnett was named after the famed 6666 Ranch founder.
The 6666 Ranch’s famous loft barn is situated near the Big House. There’s also a private landing strip, airplane hangar and pilot’s quarters. With more than 20 employee houses and bunkhouses, multiple stables and plenty of shop and feed outposts, the 6666 Ranch is a veritable kingdom. Every fall, the ranch holds the Return to Remuda horse sale, where millions of dollars are paid out for prize stallions.
Beyond the Big House, stables, barns, riding grounds and a 48,750 square-foot covered arena give way to pasture lands and gently rolling hills. The Wichita River cuts through part of the massive estate, and wildlife abounds because commercial hunting was never allowed on the property.
6666 Ranch founder Samuel Burk Burnett passed the estate on to his daughters. The last Burnett owner passed away in 2020, and offered to sell the historic property to Sheridan for $350 million. To foot the bill—and keep the legendary ranch from being parceled off—, Sheridan signed a new overall deal at Paramount worth an estimated $200 million to develop an interconnected Yellowstone universe with spinoffs like 1883 and 1923.
“I was real rich for 45 minutes,” Sheridan said of his blockbuster contract with the studio, which he immediately spent on the 6666. “Then I was broke again. That was the trade.”
After seeing inside the stunning estate, can you blame him?