Southfork Ranch

Southfork Ranch was actually a working ranch known as Duncan Acres when exteriors for the TV show’s second season were shot. "Dallas" was eventually translated and dubbed into 67 languages in over 90 countries, more than any American television series.

The half hour tour takes you from the visitor’s center to and through the house.  Your hosts are knowledgeable, gracious and welcoming as a summer breeze.  My tour started dramatically, of course, with a huge red neon series logo surrounded by memorabilia from the show – the gun that shot JR and Lucy’s wedding dress are highlights.

The museum walk leads to the back of the visitors’ center where you step on the open-air tram pulled by a tractor driven by Nathan.  Nathan points out the ranch’s rodeo ring, JR’s Ewing Oil office on the ranch, and real ranch residents Texas Longhorns, miniature & quarter horses.  On the final turn leading to the house you’ll see Lincolns & Longhorns - an upscale western wear emporium featuring Jock’s 1978 Lincoln Continental convertible and Miss Ellie’s Deli – a small restaurant serving snacks.

At the house, Jim and Adelle Taylor explain the processes behind putting together the show – before computers.  JR, Bobby and Lucy have rooms dedicated to them in this nearly 4800 square foot mansion.  Exteriors were shot at Southfork and in and around Dallas during the heat of the summer – mid-June to mid-August.  Temperatures are normally in the triple digits – over 100 degrees Fahrenheit – during the summer.  So, the actors are really acting during those winter scenes where they’re wearing fur.

You’ll see the glass table where the Ewing clan would gather for breakfast al fresco.  And, that famous balcony off JR’s bedroom where Kristin fell – or was pushed – into the pool.  You’ll be free to take as many pictures as you like – but, as in most museums, you can’t sit on the furniture – except in Jock’s living room – which was seen in the later “Dallas” movies.

Southfork Ranch is now a conference center.  Weddings are also a big part of the business at Southfork.

Rumors abound that the TV series will be revived with the surviving original cast members reprising their roles, but in this new series the original cast members will be grandparents, overseeing a new crop of dastardly conniving oil barons.

HelloDallas Tip: For a great souvenir, have a professional photo taken in front of the big neon "Dallas" sign for only $10.

- by Constance Hannon, Dallas Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)

Constance Hannon

Connie Hannon is a freelance writer living in Dallas, Texas. She is a native Texan and has lived in Dallas and Washington, D.C. for the majority of her life. Connie graduated from Pitzer College in Claremont, California, and received her masters in Journalism and Public Affairs from American University. She was a staffer on Capitol Hill and worked in CNN’s Washington Bureau, and with most of the television stations in the Dallas market.