Southfork Ranch

The Home of the Ewings

It is hard to imagine Dallas without Southfork Ranch. In some ways, it was a character just as much as any other background or supporting character. Activities centered around the ranch and the location helped to support numerous storylines throughout the series. However, the story of Southfork Ranch is a complicated tale due to the fact that multiple locations were utilized in order to portray different aspects of the Ewing mansion and ranch land.

Sit back. Relax. Read how television magic was used to bring together various properties in two states to portray the Southfork Ranch.

Cloyce Box Ranch - The First Southfork Exterior

As depicted in the miniseries Southfork included the main house, Miss Ellie's flower garden, and several outbuildings or cottages. J.R. and Sue Ellen's house was not very big, but comfortable, and included a kitchen, a sitting room and a second bedroom that J.R. and Sue Ellen were considering turning into a nursery. A second home was once briefly occupied by Gary and Valene, but sat empty once they moved away.

The first exterior used for Southfork was Cloyce Box Ranch located in Frisco, Texas. The home was built in 1941 and was 14,000 square feet. Filming only took place at the home for the miniseries. Once Dallas was picked up as a regular ongoing series, the owner did not want the film crews to return.

On November 3, 1987 the home was destroyed by fire. Although there were intentions to rebuild the home to its former glory, only its metal structural frame still stands today.

Aldredge House - The First Southfork Interior

The Aldredge House was completed in 1917 and was gifted to the Dallas County Medical Society Alliance in 1973 by Rena Munger Aldredge and her family. Today the alliance uses the space as a museum and meeting space.

The home's interior was used when filming Southfork's interior scenes during the initial miniseries. In addition, scenes for the Dallas continuation were filmed at the Aldredge House, albeit representing a different location than Southfork.

The Aldredge House is located at 5500 Swiss Avenue in Dallas, Texas.

Duncan Acres - The Iconic Southfork Ranch

Located in Braddock, Texas, Southfork Ranch is a vast working ranch of 100,000 acres. In addition to being prime land for cattle and horse ranching, it also sits atop some very large oil reserves!

Southfork originally belonged to Aaron and Barbara Southworth. When Aaron Southworth died, he left Southfork to his daughter Ellie Southworth Ewing with the expectation that it would continue to be a working ranch and that no one ever drill for oil. Miss Ellie made sure the wish was always respected.

The current Ewing mansion was built by Jock Ewing. Here he and Ellie raised their family. Even as the family grew in size and in wealth, it was not uncommon for multiple generations to live in the home at the same time.

When Miss Ellie and then husband Clayton Farlow left Dallas, the ranch was deeded to Bobby Ewing because of his love for the land. He was committed to honoring his mother's wish that no drilling would ever take place at Southfork. In 2012, Bobby's plan to sell Southfork to a conservancy did not go as planned thanks to interference from J.R.

Upon J.R.'s death, a codicil to Miss Ellie's will was opened that split ownership of Southfork between Bobby and John Ross. Bobby was not in favor of John Ross' plans to remodel the home and make numerous additions to the main house.

Built in 1970, Duncan Acres was built by Joe R. and Natalie Duncan in Parker, Texas. It was their 6,000 square foot home and quarter-horse ranch. They agreed to let filming take place around their home's exterior in 1978.

Once the show gained popularity, Duncan Acres was officially renamed Southfork Ranch. Fans from around the world visited the property, peeked in windows, and even stole the Duncans' mail! Naturally, the owners were not pleased by the traffic and eventually sold the property, allowing the new owners to open the mansion to the public.

In 1985, the ranch underwent massive construction to accommodate the thousands of annual visitors that stopped by, including the addition of a 63,000-square foot conference and event center. A museum on site displays memorabilia including the gun that shot J.R., Lucy's wedding dress, and Jock's Lincoln Continental. The ranch hosts various events, as well as offers horseback riding lessons year-round.

Exterior filming continued through 1989. Interior filming mostly took place at other locations and the interior of Southfork Ranch does not resemble what fans are familiar with from watching television. Filming returned for the reunion movies and the continuation.

In 2022, Southfork Ranch sold to Centurion American Development Group. The company announced their intention to preserve 40 acres including the mansion and conference center. However, they would like to eventually develop the remaining 200 acres. “We are looking forward to working with the city of Parker to determine the future of this historic property,” said Mehrdad Moayedi, CEO of Centurion American. “Southfork Ranch is one of the most important and beloved parcels of land in the Metroplex with more than 400,000 visitors each year, and we’re proud to lead the team bringing it into its next evolution.”

4800 Park Lane - Source of Southfork's Iconic Layout

When Dallas was picked up as a regular series, the home at 4800 Park Lane in Dallas was used for interior filming. According to director Michael Preece, "The house at Southfork is not that big. It couldn't hold all the people on the series who were supposed to live there." The home on Park Lane is over 10,000 square feet and was built in 1939. Sitting on more than four acres the home boasts five bedrooms, a pool, tennis courts, and a creek.

When the cast reunited in 1996 to film War of the Ewings, the home at Park Lane was needed again. Once a $10,000 donation was made to the homeowners' favorite charity (the Dallas Opera Foundation) the home was open once more for filming.

In 2003 then-homeowners had the 1939 mansion extensively remodeled. In 2016 the home was listed for sale for $12,950,000.

Soundstages and Sets

Sets were constructed on the MGM Studios lot. "The house we built was about 10,000 square feet," Michael Preece said. "It took up three stages." These rooms were based upon the home at 4800 Park Lane. The soundstage sets also included the home exterior and pool that were built to look like the Parker, Texas Southfork exterior. The sets were first seen midway through season two. Over time the sets were changed. Sometimes these changes were necessitated by storylines while other times changes were made in order to make Southfork appear grander.

When Dallas ended in 1991, the sets were dismantled.

The Land of Southfork Ranch

Miss Ellie's father had a love for the land and wanted to see it preserved. Seeing the ranch land on screen was just as important to the story of Dallas as seeing the Ewing mansion.

Various locations were used to portray the Southfork's vast ranch land. One of the most recognizable locations was JMJ Ranch. Located at 930 W Potrero Road in Thousand Oaks, California, the JMJ Ranch is a working horse ranch sitting on 300 acres.

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