Just How Big Is Southfork (Not just the house)?

[Billy Wall]

I’ve heard a few times that the house is big, but it’s not THAT big. Even on Southfork’s Wikipedia page, it says the “mansion” on the Southfork ranch is a 5900 sq foot house. But I’m mainly talking about the land. On the show, they make it seems as if it’s humongous. I saw a listing where it was listed at $6M. I thought that seemed kinda low for such a well known property with all that land.

For those that’s been there, is it really as big as they made it out to be?

 

[Bobby Southworth]

No, but I didn't make it till 2000, and I'm assuming that a lot of the the land was developed by then. By TNT Dallas you can clearly see surrounding subdivisions in the background. Which is part of the reason that makes the cattle run in season 14 seem ridiculous. They acted like they were on Broke Back Mountain,

 

[Michelle Stevens]

Good camera angles made the house look big. Even for 1970 standards, which is when the house was built if I'm not mistaken, it's not all that large. The inside seemed small, especially for modern standards. It seemed smaller that 5900 sq ft, but I wasn't paying too close attention when I was there. $6M seems about right for that location and property size.

I'd be curious about how much land was a part of the Southfork property when the original show was in production.

 

[CeeCee72]

Interesting question. So much has been made over the land that encompasses Southfork, but in reality, how big could it have really been?

Plus, for 6 mil, obviously, there's no oil or drilling rights.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

If you count the attic and the garage, I think it's about 8000 sq. feet -- still not a mansion. obviously.

When the Duncans owned the ranch, it got as large as 400 acres, and was reportedly the largest quarter horse ranch in Texas (perhaps "large" meant the amount of business they did as opposed to acreage).

In the script, I think they said Southfork was about 100,000 acres.

 

[Grangehill1]

I went in 2009 and thought it seemed just as big as seemed on screen. Yes the inside is horrendous and laid out in an odd way but the house is beautiful and fairly big. There’s an awful lot of land as well. I know as I walked round the entire perimeter! It was July in Dallas and scorching hot and I wanted to see Ray and Donna’s house so walked round the back and did a complete loop back to the ranch. So yes there is a lot of land

 

[Mustard]

Southfork land is big, really big. The oil rich part of it is called "section 40". The actual house from Season 2 DVD onwards probably has 5-6 bedrooms. The original Southfork location from Season 1 DVD was much bigger and also had several different houses. Perhaps the new Southfork had more buildings too, but we just didn't see them.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

Southfork land is big, really big. The oil rich part of it is called "section 40". The actual house from Season 2 DVD onwards probably has 5-6 bedrooms. The original Southfork location from Season 1 DVD was much bigger and also had several different houses. Perhaps the new Southfork had more buildings too, but we just didn't see them.

The actual ranch house was bigger on the inside than on the outside!

Which is why I suspect it was really a TARDIS!

The first Southfork, the Cloyce Box ranch looked a lot bigger and more grander than the Duncan Acres ranch which replaced it.

I'm not sure how many acres of land Southfork had as I can't remember if it's ever mentioned on screen but Miss Ellie certainly loved the land and Southfork.

 

[Barbara Fan]

I went in 2009 and thought it seemed just as big as seemed on screen. Yes the inside is horrendous and laid out in an odd way but the house is beautiful and fairly big. There’s an awful lot of land as well. I know as I walked round the entire perimeter! It was July in Dallas and scorching hot and I wanted to see Ray and Donna’s house so walked round the back and did a complete loop back to the ranch. So yes there is a lot of land

I thought the house was tiny, downstairs there is the double garage, used as an events space, the dining room, living room, tacky red kitchen, Bobby, Lucy and Miss Ellies room and a small bathroom if i recall

The stairs lead to ONE, yes one bedroom upstairs dubbed the JR bedroom and it has the veranda/balcony off it

All of the decor is pretty awful and needs someone seriously with style and taste to revamp it

outside is the SF I know and love and soaked it all up, when i look at photos I took at SF and compare ot to 1980s Dallas the surrounding land has become so built up

but SF outdoors is great to soak it all up and think of all the great scenes the pool is small but to walk up the driveway and see the house from the main road, is a thrill

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

I thought the house was tiny, downstairs there is the double garage, used as an events space, the dining room, living room, tacky red kitchen, Bobby, Lucy and Miss Ellies room and a small bathroom if i recall

The stairs lead to ONE, yes one bedroom upstairs dubbed the JR bedroom and it has the veranda/balcony off it

All of the decor is pretty awful and needs someone seriously with style and taste to revamp it

outside is the SF I know and love and soaked it all up, when i look at photos I took at SF and compare ot to 1980s Dallas the surrounding land has become so buit up

but SF outdoors is great to soak it all up and think of all the great scenes the pool is small but to walk up the driveway and see the house from the main road, is a thrill

The lay-out of the real house really is bizarre -- the dining room has no windows and is in the center of a wing surrounded by hallways (???). Among other odd architectural issues.

And, yes, the interior is terribly tacky; it needs a rustic overhaul -- at least, a semi-high-end one.

If they don't raze the house in a few months.

 

[Lastkidpicked]

I did a google earth measurement, figuring that where development started is where Southfork ended. That would put real-life Southfork Ranch at 400 acres.

Plus, for 6 mil, obviously, there's no oil or drilling rights

Or water. Nowadays, water rights are worth more than oil rights.

 

[Lastkidpicked]

In the script, I think they said Southfork was about 100,000 acres.

Southfork land is big, really big. The oil rich part of it is called "section 40".

If you are going by "how big was Southfork as presented in the TV show" then we can do that math as well.

***pulls out whiteboard and several markers***

We know that there are at least 40 sections, as @Mustard mentioned there is a section 40.

Each section is one square mile, or 640 acres.

That would be 40 square miles of land, or 25,600 acres. This is if there are ONLY 40 sections. So there's 25,000 acres there IF the ranch stopped at section 40.

@Scary Organ is probably right at 100,000 acres estimated.

Want to put this in perspective? Here is the listing for Wagonner Ranch. And remember that Wagonner Ranch is tiny compared to the King Ranch.

FOR SALE: Largest ranch in the U.S. within a single fence. Texas fixer-upper with more than 1,000 oil wells; 6,800 head of cattle; 500 quarter horses; 30,000 acres of cropland; tombstones for legendary cowboys, long-dead dogs, and a horse buried standing up. Favorite of Will Rogers and Teddy Roosevelt. Colorful history of drinking and divorce. Fifteen-minute drive to rib-eyes at the Rusty Spur in Vernon. Ideal for Saudi oil sheiks, billionaire hedge funders, and dot-commers who can tell a cow from a steer. Profitable. Zero debt. Property taxes only $800,000 a year. Price: $725 million.

Here's a fun article about it.

Bloomberg - Are you a robot?

 

[Lastkidpicked]

In Texas, real life is bigger than fiction.

Even Sue Ellen didn't go to THIS extreme (from the history of Waggoner Ranch):

The Waggoners roared into the 1920s as one of the richest and most colorful families in Texas. Tom’s daughter, who would come to be known as Electra I, spent $90,000 (about $1 million in today’s dollars) remodeling a Dallas mansion to accommodate 350 pairs of shoes; a vault of emeralds, diamonds, and pearls; and a closetful of fur coats, according to a 1995 history by Roze McCoy Porter.