For more than seventy years, this barn was in everyday use on the Guthrie, Texas ranch of the 6666. It is believed to have been completed by Samuel Burk Burnett around 1908. It became a landmark, symbolic of the ranching activities carried on there. The structure was a common sight as it sat just off Highway 82 as the highway looped around Guthrie. In later years, the quarter horses owned by the operation were housed there. Within ten years of its completion, Burnett built his ranch house that stood nearby for so many years until the barn was moved.
Samuel Burk Burnett had started the ranch around 1870, when he was a young man of 21 in Wichita County, after buying a herd of cattle from a rancher named Frank Crowley out of Denton County. A long debunked legend centered around the 6666 brand being related to a poker hand. Though not conclusively stated on the ranch website, the brand is thought to have come from Crowley’s or some other herd of cattle that was acquired by Burnett around that time. In Texas, unlike some other states, cattle brands are recorded by county. Accordingly, the 6666 brand was recorded in Wichita County in 1875, on the Comanche-Kiowa reservation in Oklahoma in 1881 and at various times in other Texas counties.
Burnett married Ruth Bottom Loyd, daughter of Martin Bottom Loyd and Margaret Ann Valiant Loyd in 1871. Loyd once also owned property in Wichita County and was a well known banker in Fort Worth. Burk and Ruth had two children, Tom and Anne, who lived to be adults. The barn bears the image of two brands, 6666 and L. Before it was acquired by Burnett, the L was formerly M. B. Loyd’s brand for his horses. After about ten years, Ruth and Burk were divorced, but the Loyd and Burnett families appear to have remained on good terms in business matters.
The ranch expanded to King County in 1900 when the Guthrie area property was acquired from the Louisville Land and Cattle Company. The town of Guthrie was named for W. H. Guthrie, a major shareholder of the Louisville Land and Cattle Company. Eventually the Wichita County property consisting of about 30,000 acres was sold and two more properties were added later in the Panhandle.
The Big Spring Herald, Big Spring, Texas, reported in its June 22, 1980 issue that the Burnett family, as represented by the great granddaughter of Burk Burnett then known as Mrs. Anne Valiant Windfohr Phillips, had agreed to donate this structure to the Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock, Texas. The barn was to be disassembled and moved to a 12 acre site on the campus of Texas Tech University in Lubbock. In addition, Mrs. Phillips initially donated $250,000 to renovate and restore the building, along with various other articles owned by the Burnett family. These items included furnishings from the ranch house that sat nearby. The barn was to join about twenty historic structures already assembled on property behind the main building of the Ranching Heritage Center.
The structure was moved to Lubbock shortly thereafter. For a short time, its components lay under a protective plastic tarp until reconstruction could begin. The reconstructed barn was dedicated about one year later during the 1981 National Golden Spur Award weekend in mid September.
The structure is large, measuring just over 3,500 square feet. In the restoration process, some of the original materials had to be replaced with new wood. The exterior today looks much the same as it had on the ranch, but Mrs. Anne Phillips, later known as Anne W. Marion, had consented to the interior being renovated and updated for use as a special events center. She supported the interior modifications through her initial contribution and continued to fund additional improvements as they were undertaken. Some of the changes included insulating the entire interior as well as the loft, finishing out the inside walls with cedar, adding modern lighting, fans and air conditioning. A stage was added. The building also includes a kitchen as well as updated and ADA compliant restrooms. There were many other decor changes to make it attractive for events.
The National Ranching Heritage Center is located between 4th Street, Indiana Avenue and the Marsha Sharp Freeway on the campus of Texas Tech University. Formerly known as the Ranch Headquarters Association. the Ranching Heritage Association, a not for profit organization, was organized in 1971. It operates as The National Ranching Heritage Center which name was adopted in 1990. In its mission statement it states that the entity is established “to reserve and interpret the history of ranching in North America and address contemporary ranching issues.”
Cowboy artist Tom Ryan did a number of paintings based on photographs he took on the ranch. Back in 1963, he says, he had asked around for information about ranches that still used a chuck wagon. Soon, he was invited to go to the 6666 ranch for three weeks. He went with the cowboys to their big roundup of the year, brought his bedroll and slept on the ground with the rest of the hands. During that time, he took many photographs, some of which he used as the basis for oil paintings. His creations from that time included everyday activities of the cowboys. At least one included the manager George Humphreys standing in front of the old red barn. By 1982, this particular painting featuring Mr. Humphreys and the barn became part of the permanent collection of the National Ranching Heritage Center.
At least one print ad used a Tom Ryan chuck wagon painting with the 6666 brand on its side. From time to time, the ranch was used in commercials. In one of them, an old cigarette company print advertisement, showed the barn in the background. A recent Fritos commercial opens and closes with the old barn in the background.
According to the Center’s website, the barn is available for limited uses: “university and public educational, research and entertainment purposes. … No facilities rented for weddings, wedding receptions; engagement or rehearsal dinners; private parties; or political, religious or commercial activities.” What is available is a 1,200 square foot area to seat 70 to 125 people. As noted above, there is a permanent stage. Costs are stated on the website.
Sources:
Marsha Pfluger, “Across Time & Territory: A Walk Through the National Ranching Heritage Center, Texas Tech University Press, 2004
Website: 6666 Ranch
Website: National Ranching Heritage Center
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