Southfork Ranch

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The Southfork Ranch, from the TV Series "Dallas".

Southfork Ranch is a location near Plano, Texas in the community of Parker, Texas where the Dallas television series was filmed. It is located at 3700 Hogge (pronounced "Hoag") Drive.

[edit] History

The house was built in 1970 by Joe Duncan and was known as Duncan Acres, named after his family. The property was originally 200 acres (0.81 km²) in size. The "Mansion" at Southfork Ranch is actually a 4769 sq ft. house with a 957 sq ft (88.9 m²) enclosed garage that was turned into a den/card room.

The TV series' exteriors were shot on the ranch beginning with the second season (1978-1979) of Dallas, and shot there until 1989 when the series' production shifted entirely to Lorimar Studios (now Sony Pictures Studios) in California. The reunion movies J.R. Returns (1996) and War of the Ewings (1998) returned to the ranch, along with the reunion special Dallas Reunion: The Return to Southfork (2004). War of the Ewings in 1998 was the only time filming was done inside the real ranch for dramatic purposes (Return to Southfork in 2004 was a retrospective, and not a genuine "episode").

In 1993-94, the ranch was featured prominently in the Little Texas music video God Bless Texas.

The ranch is currently an event and conference center, one of those owned by Forever Resorts, a division of MLM company Forever Living Products. Daily tours of the ranch and mansion are offered for an admission fee of $9 for adults. It is home to the KLTY-FM radio Christian concert Celebrate Freedom, held annually during the Independence Day celebration.