Shepherd of the Hills has new owners. We just don't know much about them yet.

Branson's Shepherd of the Hills homestead — which closed this year after facing unprecedented drops in attendance and a bank foreclosure — now has a new owner.

Public records provided to the News-Leader by the Taney County Assessor indicate that Shepherd of the Hills Development LLC, an entity formed June 1, bought the historic property June 26.

Springfield resident Jeffrey D. Johnson is listed as the company organizer and registered agent, according to business registration documents filed with the Missouri Secretary of State.

"I spoke to a Jeff Johnson about a week ago who I understood to be the new owner," wrote Taney County Assessor Chuck Pennel in an email to the News-Leader.

The News-Leader reached out to Johnson but has not yet received a response.

For the 2018 tax year, the assessor's office valued the Shepherd of the Hills property at just shy of $2.7 million.

Robin Withrow, a sales, marketing and event official with Shepherd of the Hills, would only confirm that the park has a new owner and that details are forthcoming.

"Right now we're happy and excited to announce new owners soon," she told the News-Leader.

Withrow said that the homestead would host the Super Summer Cruise Aug. 10 to 12, an auto show featuring 400 cars and a midnight excursion down Shepherd of the Hills Expressway.

But she would not comment on whether there might be changes to the Shepherd of the Hills play, nor did she release details on whether there might be changes to other attractions at the park, among them a zip line and the Inspiration Tower.

The tower is 230 feet tall, built in 1989 to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of Harold Bell Wright's first visit to the Ozarks.

Wright, a Christian minister, was the author of "Shepherd of the Hills," a melodramatic 1907 novel celebrating the simplicity of Ozarks life.

It sold millions of copies and made Wright a wealthy man.

He owed his success to the inspiration he received by living with Ozarks people, years before he rented a room at the Branson Hotel downtown and began to write.

During his time in Taney County, Wright befriended John Ross, his family and neighbors. The Rosses began homesteading in the 1880s or 1890s, building a makeshift "log cell" home on the Shepherd of the Hills site that still stands today.

Wright based many of his fictional characters on the Rosses and their social world.

His novel became so popular that 110 years later, the imaginary story is better-known than its historical roots: The Ross home is commonly called "Old Matt's Cabin."

Around 1910, John Ross sold the place. A later owner, Mark Trimble, adapted the book into an original play and began putting on performances in 1960.

Those shows continued until 2016.

The news in early May that the Shepherd of the Hills play and homestead would not open for 2017 — despite published advertisements of an opening date and a show schedule — prompted shock and concern in Taney County.

In May, the News-Leader reported on one local historian who feared the property might be bulldozed for condominiums, despite being listed on the National Register of Historic Places. (A register listing does not prevent a new owner from demolishing historic structures.)

The park faced a gauntlet of challenges in recent years. In the 1970s, more than 200,000 people packed the Shepherd of the Hills outdoor auditorium each year.

But co-owner Sherena Snadon Naugher — whose family has held the park since 1985 — recently told KYTV that in the two most recent seasons, attendance dropped between 30,000 to 40,000 people.

That's a historic ebb.

The News-Leader attempted to contact Naugher but has not yet received a response.

Meanwhile, times were changing in Branson. The park's owner, Gary Snadon, died in 2013. Former owner Mark Trimble died earlier this year.

On June 8, Shepherd of the Hills kindled hope in its fans via Facebook, announcing that the park was "under contract to new investors" and that "major announcements" would be forthcoming.

On July 1, the park's Facebook page ran a post indicating Shepherd of the Hills had "officially been sold."

Both posts were shared hundreds of times.

Related:Pokin Around: Will Old Matt's Cabin be bulldozed?

College of the Ozarks interested in 'Old Matt's Cabin'

Mark Trimble, former owner of Shepherd of the Hills, dies at 85

Obituary for longtime Shepherd of the Hills owner Gary Snadon