Our SitesWhat is Pioneer Farms?
At Pioneer Farms, you’ll find five themed historic areas to explore: an 1840s Tonkawa Encampment, an 1860s German Immigrant Farm, an 1870s Texian Farm, an 1880s Cotton Planters Farm and an 1890s Sprinkle Corner rural village. In each areayou can see and smell real Texas history first-hand. Explore 90 beautiful, wooded acres, and discover exciting, memorable ways to experience Texas. past with your family. Don’t miss the Scaborough Barn where you can get up close with your favorite farm animal friends!
1840s Tonkawa Encampment
Dance to the sound of the water drum and gourd rattle in our earliest historic site, a real Tonkawa Indian campsite that dates back centuries. Experience what life in Central Texas was like in the days when Texas was still a Republic. The centerpiece of the site is a massive, centuries-old oak tree that once shaded the Native Texans who camped beneath it. Just down the hill, if you listen closely enough, you can almost hear horses and cattle fording Walnut Creek at a spot where the Chisholm Trail crossed through the area in the late 1800s, long after the Tonkawa were gone.
1860s German Immigrant Farm
Peek into the life of the Fritz Kruger family, not long after they emigrated to Texas from the Dessau region of Germany. Thirteen children were raised in the one-room log cabin, with the girls sleeping in the loft and the boys in the yard and barn. Meals were prepared in the outdoor kitchen, where you can smell biscuits baking in the Dutch Oven and a meaty stew bubbling in the large cast-iron pot. The stacked cedar-post fence that rings the yard contains a Devil’s Gate, a gate without hinges whose colorful name is only part of its history
1870s Texian Farm
Experience what life was like for en early homesteader on the Pioneer Farms, the family of Frederick and Harriet Jourdan. They homesteaded the property in the 1850s, after coming to Texas from Tennessee. Like many settlers from the Eastern States, the lifestyles reflected their origins and their architecture of log-and-board homes their middle-class status. Visit the chicken house, corrals and barns to see how their livestock lived.
1880s Cotton Planter’s Farm
Discover what life was like for a wealthy family in the day when cotton was king. Stroll through the sprawling house built just before the Civil War began and experience what life was like during the Victorian era. Those enticing smells of dinner are wafting from the separate kitchen, a nod to the threat of fire. Next door is a spinning room where loons and wheels are kept busy making thread and yarn for clothing and other essentials. Walk with the James Bell family around this site and help do the chores in the livestock corrals out back.
1890s Sprinkle Corner
Sprinkle Corner, a recreated rural village on the Blackland Prairie, features a general store, exhibits, houses and other original town site buildings that either are restored or are in the process of restoration. Jump in and help with chores at the Jackson & Giles General Merchandise shop, lend a hand to the town carpenter or visit with the town folk and trade stories. Exhibits are available for a quick lesson in Texas’ past. Stop by the period-appropriate store for souvenirs and other must-haves.
