Long before CityLine and Telecom Corridor, Owens Spring Creek Farm was Richardson’s claim to corporate fame. Now the iconic farm where the Owens family made its successful sausage brand for decades is likely the future site of Richardson’s next prime development.

According to the Dallas Morning News, Carrollton-based Standridge Companies has purchased the farm and is weighing development options.

"It is not very often that you can acquire a large tract of land inside a major, developed city where the previous use on the property was an agricultural or a farm use," officials from Standridge said in a statement. "There is so much history and potential with this property that we want to explore different options and make the right decision."

Spring Creek Farm’s prominence in Richardson dates back to the 1920s when the Owens family founded its sausage company. Over the years, the pristine property identified by white and red structures became a tourist attraction that hosted plant tours, hayrides in Owens’ signature wagon, a petting zoo, and holiday events. Sausage pitchman Jerry Owens was a major contributor to the Richardson community and a Citizen of the Year recipient in the 1990s. 

In 1987, Ohio-based Bob Evans Farms acquired the Owens Sausage brand, and the company closed Spring Creek Farm and its on-site plant in 2003. 

Located at Plano and Lookout Roads just east of North Central Expressway, the nearly 27-acre farm is one of Richardson’s largest remaining development sites.

Though Standridge officials are doing their due diligence and talking to neighbors before selecting the type development to build, preserving Spring Creek Farm’s history may play an integral role in the future project.

"We're in early discussions on what to do with all the old structures [on the farm], but we'd like to keep and or incorporate them into the ultimate development of the site," Thomas Crowell with Standridge Companies told the News.