Samuel Burk Burnett
| Samuel Burk Burnett | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 1, 1849 Bates County, Missouri |
| Died |
June 27, 1922 (aged 73) Fort Worth, Texas |
| Occupation | Cattleman, rancher |
| Title | Captain |
| Spouse(s) | Ruth B. Loyd Mary Couts Burnett |
| Children | 4, including Thomas Lloyd Burnett and Burk Burnett, Jr. |
| Parent(s) | Jeremiah Burnett Mary (Turner) Burnett |
| Relatives | Bruce Burnett (brother) Martin B. Lloyd (father-in-law) Anne Valliant Burnett Tandy (granddaughter) Anne Windfohr Marion (great-granddaughter) |
Samuel Burk Burnett (January 1, 1849 – June 27, 1922) was an American cattleman and rancher from Texas.
Samuel Burk Burnett was born on January 1, 1849 in Bates County, Missouri. His father, Jeremiah Burnett, was a farmer. His mother was Mary (Turner) Burnett. He had a brother, Bruce Burnett, who later became a rancher in his own right. In 1857-1858, the family moved into a house by the Denton Creek in Denton County, Texas, where his father became a cattleman. It was then that Burnett, only ten years of age, learned ranching from his father.
In 1868, at the age of nineteen, he purchased one hundred head of cattle which were branded '6666,' from Frank Crowley During the Panic of 1873, he drove 1,100 steers to Wichita, Kansas and sold them for US$10,000 in 1874, thus making a fortune for the time. Later that year, he purchased 1,300 more cattle and drove them along the Chisholm Trail to the open range land by the Little Wichita River. He purchased land near Wichita Falls, Texas, before the town was built. Due to the droughts of the 1880s, he moved his cattle to the Big Pasture in southwestern Oklahoma. He rented 300,000 acres of land, where his 10,000 head of cattle grazed. Meanwhile, his son Thomas worked as a cowhand on the Big Pasture.
In 1900, he purchased the 8 Ranch, later known as the 6666 Ranch, near Guthrie, Texas, from the Louisville Land and Cattle Company. He also acquired the Dixon Creek Ranch near Panhandle, Texas. In 1917, he built a ranchhouse in Guthrie. It was designed by architects Sanguiner and Staats and cost US$100,000. Guests included President Theodore Roosevelt and comedian Will Rogers. Four years later, in 1921, shortly before his death, oil was discovered near the Dixon Creek on his 6666 Ranch.
Burnett also served on the Board of Directors of the First National Bank of Fort Worth. He was also President of the Ardmore Oil and the Gin Milling Company.
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