Southfork, at Last

The Gate Finally Opened

I made my first trip to Dallas last week. I met my husband, Raaj, in high school, so we share the same alma mater. This time, our high school’s biennial reunion was held in Dallas. For me, Dallas has always been closely associated with the hugely popular TV series of the same name. Raaj told me the house and ranch from the series are still there and open for public tours. “Then shouldn’t we visit?” I asked him. For me, it all began long ago in Dhaka.

At 10:30 pm every Saturday, Bangladesh Television would broadcast the American family drama “Dallas”. Family conflicts, romance, sibling rivalry, the extended family with loving elderly parents, the wealthy lifestyle – “Dallas” opened up a never-before-seen world for those of us growing up in Bangladesh in the 80s. The concept of soap operas probably took root in me then. Watching television after 10 pm was discouraged for children of my age. It was meant to be for adults only. But my mother had a lenient way of dealing with her children. She would sometimes allow me – “Watch for 15 minutes and then go to sleep.” Fifteen minutes would stretch into another ten. My elder sisters became jittery. “Because of you, Abba will scold all of us if he wakes up and finds you here.” But I was already glued to that series. I began to understand the characters and the relationships. JR Ewing, Bobby Ewing, Sue Ellen, Pamela, and the wicked Lucy. They looked real. The long shot of the vast Southfork ranch, a car driving in from afar, the theme music – I knew it scene by scene. As the car entered the gate, it opened a gate for me to soak in the make-believe world of this multi-starrer series.

About forty years later, that gate was finally within reach. At the reunion, we realized that many from our group were interested in visiting the ranch to rekindle their childhood memories. After breakfast, we set out in three different cars. After almost an hour’s drive, finally the aha moment – we could see the entrance of the property with the name “Southfork Ranch”. However, as we approached, the security officer at the gate informed us that the whole ranch was closed that day for a big private party. There was no public tour, and she told us to come back the next day at 11:15 am. We were visibly upset because many were already scheduled to leave the next day, and it is not easy for everyone to make this long trip again. I almost gave up hope of going, as we had also made a plan with our children. They had agreed to come to Dallas with us on the condition that they would be free to plan their own days. So we let them be and kept only the last day to spend with them – and the next day was that last day. Raaj knew that, hoping to visit the ranch, I had already drafted an introductory note on the plane during our three-and-a-half-hour flight from New York. He said, “You have written the introduction. Now it’s my responsibility to make it possible for you to finish the write-up. No matter what, I must take you there tomorrow. We will spend time with our children after visiting the ranch.”

The next morning, the others from our group were unable to come. So Raaj and I started for the ranch alone. It was 40–50 minutes from our hotel, depending on traffic. We crossed Plano, home to many big company headquarters. Dallas has big highways with multiple lanes and countless crisscrossing overpasses. There is ample open land, and buildings and markets are generously spaced out. Someone from NYC especially would genuinely feel the difference – the spacious roads and open city concept. Most homes were brick. As we drove, I wondered how, nearly fifty years ago, the cast and crew came here from Los Angeles summer after summer to film the outdoor scenes. “Dallas” started in 1978 and ran for 14 seasons.

We reached the ranch, and this time the staff at the entry directed us to the reception building.

From the reception, we walked to the house. The guide joined us there. We listened to how it all started. Joe Duncan built the house in 1970 for his family, on about 200 acres. It was called Duncan Acres. In 1978, the producers of a new CBS series were looking for a ranch. They flew over the area in a helicopter and spotted this house. Mr. Duncan was not keen to rent out his family home. He finally agreed, but on his terms – they could film only outside, and only in summer. So all those scenes inside the Ewing home were shot in a studio in Los Angeles. The Duncans kept living here in the early years. But as the show became a hit, fans began crowding at their door. In 1985, they moved out, and the house became the Southfork we know.

Then we walked through the house. The patio chairs, the swimming pool where Bobby swam and Lucy sunbathed, Bobby’s room, JR’s room, Lucy’s room, the dining room, the kitchen, the bar. Each room is decorated for the character who would have lived there.

There is also a museum on the ranch grounds. It holds artifacts from the series – original scripts, pictures, hats, and more. The famous red Mercedes that Bobby Ewing drove is parked outside the museum. In one room, the series plays nonstop for anyone who wants to sit and watch.

The ranch has changed hands since the Duncans left. A businessman bought it in 1992, and since 2022 it has been owned by a North Texas developer, Centurion American. Now the city has given permission to build homes on part of the land – large two-acre lots. But the original house, the event center, and the land around them are kept out of the construction. The house stays as it is.

Today the ranch is mostly rented out for weddings, parties, and events – like the big private party that had turned us away the day before.

As I was entering, walking through the rooms, and coming back, I felt like I was walking through history. On my way out, it felt surreal. Visiting the ranch was like a long-overdue closure – the gate I had watched open on a small screen in Bangladesh finally opened for me in real life. I felt I was leaving behind not only a historical pathway but a piece of my childhood too.