A visit to Pioneer Farms, located in northeast Austin, is like stepping back in time. It is an interactive living history museum where you can explore restored log cabins, farmhouses, a Little House on the Prairie type village and even an Indian settlement. So when my daughter Kaitlyn was assigned a school project on German settlers in Texas, we decided to spend an afternoon at Pioneer Farms to see firsthand how these immigrant settlers lived.
The 90-acre Pioneer Farms has "five themed historic areas to explore: an 1841 Tonkawa Encampment, an 1868 German Immigrant Farm, an 1873 Texian Farm, an 1887 Cotton Planter's Farm and an 1899 Sprinle Corner rural village." So put on your comfortable walking shoes and follow the trail to explore each of these historic sites.
Volunteers, dressed in period costumes, are stationed at the different sites to bring history to life. They give you tours of the houses and farms, demonstrate skills such as woodworking, blacksmithing, & candlemaking, and answer any questions you have.
Jackson watching a blacksmithing demonstration
Summer Camp at Pioneer Farms
I first visited Pioneer Farms in the early 1990s when my younger cousins went to summer camp there. The little girls would arrive each morning and pick out a dress and bonnet to wear. Then they'd step back in time and spend the day learning how pioneer settlers lived . . . baking, churning butter, feeding pigs, milking cows, and cooking over an outdoor fire. Pioneer Farms still offers various classes and programs for children and adults throughout the year.
German Immigrant Farm
The first stop on our self-guided tour was at the Kruger Farm. This real pioneer family immigrated to Texas from Dessau, Germany, in the 1850s. They built this one-room log cabin around 1867. "The cabin's single room was the center of family life: a parlor, a dining room, and a bedroom for the parents. The children slept in a loft upstairs or in the barn"In addition to Kaitlyn's school project, we were particularly interested in seeing the German family farm because their story is so similar to that of our German ancestors, the Kanetzsky's. My great, great-grandmother Fredericka Stolle Kanetsky came to Travis County, Texas, from Dessau, Germany in 1870.
Kruger Family Farm
A typical open-bay barn which had open sides
and a room at one end for storing feed.
and a room at one end for storing feed.
The family's one-room log cabin built from cedar
trees that were cut into logs at a Bastrop sawmill.
trees that were cut into logs at a Bastrop sawmill.
The parents slept in this bed downstairs
The dining room, across from the bed
All cooking was done outside due
to a fear of fire inside a cabin
to a fear of fire inside a cabin
The outhouse
Some outhouses were "two-holers"
Tonkawa Indian Camp
The next stop was my son's favorite ... the Indian teepees! Located on the banks of Walnut Creek, under giant oak trees, this campsite makes it easy to imagine the life of Tonakawa Indians in Central Texas. They were hunter-gatherers and frequently moved from camp to camp, following game for hunting.As a side note, I highly recommend the book The Boy Captives by Clinton L. Smith. It tells the true story of two young brothers, aged 10 & 8, who lived in Texas in the 1800s. They were kidnapped by Indians near San Antonio in 1871 and lived with them for five years before making their escape and returning to their family.
Texian Farm
This middle class farmhouse built by the Jourdan family in 1858 is surrounded by a barn, chicken house, outhouse, smokehouse, and cellar. "Texians" is a term that was given to white, migrant settlers from Eastern states. A typical Texian farm was 250 acres.The Jourdan family lived in this house, along with their eight children. They also had nine slaves. The original cabin, built in the traditional dog-trot style, was later expanded as the family grew to include 12 children. The dog-trot style was very common in Texas during the mid-19th Century and refers to the open breezeway down the middle of the house. Pets were often found lounging in the area, hence the name "dog trot". This design created a wind tunnel that would lower the temperatures of house nearly 10 degrees in the hot summer months.
The Jourdan log cabin built in the typical dog-trot style.
This side view of the Jourdan home shows
the addition built onto the original log cabin.
the addition built onto the original log cabin.
The family living room
The kitchen
The dining room
Children's bedroom
Parent's bedroom
Cotton Planter's Farm
The Bell Family Plantation was built in 1859 along Brushy Creek in Round Rock. It was moved to Pioneer Farms in the 1990's. The Bell family raised five children in this home. The home's living room and bedroom are built around a central hallway. The kitchen was located in a separate building behind the house.
Bell Family Plantation Home
Living Room
Dining Room
Bedroom
Central Hallway
Sprinklers Corner Village
Our tour came full circle and ends where we began ... at the Sprinklers Corner Village. This recreated village includes a functioning general store, some houses and an exhibit of old carriages and wagons.
