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Southfork Ranch founded in 1840 as a 100,000-acre Texas cattle ranch, made history from 1978 to 1991 as the fictional Dallas homestead of America's most delightfully-devious TV family, the Ewings.
History of Southfork History at Southfork began in 1978, when Lorimar Productions chose the North Texas showplace as the site for the CBS-TV series "Dallas". The hit series, which counted millions of viewers across the United States and in 95 foreign countries as fans, was originally broadcast in the United States from 1978 to 1991. The series continues to be broadcast in syndication and still is in first-run status in many countries around the world. Because of the ranch's high profile on television, the beautiful white mansion, the pool, the barns and surroundings quickly became a tourist mecca.
The original owner of the ranch and his family were actually in residence at Southfork as the filming began. When requests for private parties began to pour in, tents were erected and a small party pavilion was built to accommodate these types of events. However, tourism finally took its toll on the family, as it became increasingly hard to live privately in what had become Dallas' leading visitor attraction.
In 1985, Southfork became strictly a tourist attraction and event location. The mansion was opened to the public for the first time. A 63,000 square foot conference and event center was built to accommodate several thousand people for special events and functions. A rodeo arena, which was originally constructed for the filming of "Dallas" rodeos, began to host open competition rodeos as well as private "showdeos."
In June of 1992, Mr. Rex Maughan, a successful Arizona businessman with extensive company operations in Texas, purchased the ranch. Mr. Maughan was a client of Southfork's, hosting events several times a year for business associates from around the world. Since Mr. Maughan's purchase, business has continued to dramatically grow. Tourists are still attracted to the nostalgia of "Dallas" and Southfork's unique facilities have created an internationally respected conference and event center for meeting planners. Over $14,000,000 in capital improvements have been completed, proof that history is still unfolding at the "world's most famous ranch."
History of "Dallas"
Never envisioned to be the winner it became, "Dallas" was initially scripted as a non-continuing five-part drama. Airing for the first time on April 2, 1978, it ran for five consecutive Sunday nights. Ratings climbed weekly. By the fifth episode, it ranked in the top ten of the week's most watched shows.
On the basis of these impressive numbers, CBS approved thirteen additional scripts and "Season One" officially began the next full season. "Dallas" success continued, with the show airing for 13 seasons until May of 1991. By this time, the series included 356 episodes and had become the most watched series in the world, and had spawned a successful spin-off series in Knots Landing.
In 1995 and 1997, "Dallas" original cast members including Larry Hagman, Linda Gray, and Patrick Duffy returned to Southfork to film two reunion movies. The first reunion movie, "JR Returns," aired in 1996, and the reunion sequel, "The War of the Ewings," aired in 1998.
The recent announcement of TNT's "Dallas" series returning in the summer of 2012 has media and fans anticipating the next chapter of the "Dallas" saga returning to prime time television. The series is also slated to air in the United Kingdom on Channel 5. So, stay tuned Dallas Fans!
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