Southfork Ranch is a conference and event center in Parker, in the US state of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, north of

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

. It includes Ewing Mansion, the setting for the television series ''Dallas''.

History

The house was built in 1970 by Joe Duncan and was known as Duncan Acres, named after his family. The property was originally in size. The "mansion" at Southfork Ranch is a house with a enclosed garage that was turned into a den/card room. The ranch appears in the television series ''

''. Exterior shots were filmed on location from 1979 until 1989, though Lorimar Productions also made a studio mock-up of the ranch's exterior (complete with swimming pool) in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

in 1979 for use when the weather made it impractical to film on location in Texas. From 1989 the series' production shifted entirely to the California studio set. The reunion movies '' J.R. Returns'' (1996) and '' War of the Ewings'' (1998) returned to the ranch, as did the non-fiction special '' 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. Southfork was again used for the new ''Dallas'' series. Some scenes in the prequel, '' Dallas: The Early Years'', were filmed there in November 1985. In 1993–94 the ranch was featured in the Little Texas music video " God Blessed Texas". The ranch is now an event and conference center, owned by Forever Resorts. It was home to the

KLTY-FM KLTY (94.9 FM) is owned by the Salem Media Group with studios located in Irving, Texas, near Dallas and a transmitter in Cedar Hill. The format is similar to the "Fish" branded stations Salem owns elsewhere and its slogan is: "Your Life...Inspi ...

radio Christian concert Celebrate Freedom, held annually during the Independence Day celebration, and hosted the 4 July 2009 " America's Tea Party", which an organizer said drew an estimated crowd of 25,000–35,000. In December 2012 a memorial service was held at the Southfork Ranch after the death of actor Larry Hagman, who starred as

J.R. Ewing John Ross "J.R." Ewing Jr. is a fictional character in the American television series ''Dallas'' (1978–1991) and its spin-offs, including the revived ''Dallas'' series (2012–2014). The character was portrayed by Larry Hagman from the series ...

in the series. A memorial book for fans to sign was set up in the "J.R. Ewing room".''Dallas Morning News'' - Nov. 30 2012 - Staff Writer ALAN PEPPARD: "Southfork memorial for Larry Hagman a ‘Dallas’ family affair"
DallasNews.com - 11:15 PM 01 December 2012

Gallery

Image:SF27.JPG, Southfork Ranch Main Gate Image:SF23.JPG, Rear view of mansion Image:SF12.JPG, Swimming pool at Southfork

References

External links

Southfork Ranch -- Official SiteAerial view
{{Dallas (TV series) Culture of Dallas Dallas (TV franchise) Ranches in Texas Landmarks in Dallas Mass media museums in the United States Historic house museums in Texas Museums in Collin County, Texas Forever Resorts Residential buildings completed in 1970 1970 establishments in Texas

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links