ABOUT PIONEER FARMS.
Texas Ranger Lt. James O. Rice, an original Austin settler, laid claim to 1,280 acres at the northward crossing of Walnut Creek in the fall of 1844 - including the site of Pioneer Farms.
Eight years later, in 1852, Frederick and Harriet B. Jourdan settled on the site with eight children and nine slaves, and eventually amassed a 2,000-acre farm. Located on historic Walnut Creek, their farm was located near where the Chisholm Trail once crossed through the Austin area, where Tonkawa Indians once camped and in a culturally rich crossroads of Central Texas where settlers from the Eastern States and Mexico, immigrants from Germany and Europe and Freedmen once built successful lives on the Blacklands Prairie.
In 1956, the Jourdan grandchildren, Laura and Eugene Giles, donated the core of their grandparents' property to the Heritage Society of Austin, Austin's oldest historic preservation organization, for a park to honor early-day settlers.
In 1976, with funding support from the Heritage Society, the museum opened under the auspices of the Austin Natural Science Association, and later was operated by the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department. When the City ended its operation of the museum in 2003, it was turned back to the Heritage Society of Austin.
Staffed solely by volunteers, our living history museum is run by a Board of Governors that oversees operations for the Heritage Society. Funded mostly through gate admissions and donations, a new entrance village has been created, new programs and events have been launched, infrastructure and maintenance of historic buildings has been brought to standard and other improvements continue as part of a goal to make the site a destination museum in Texas.
Pioneer Farms is a member of the American Association of Museums, the Association of Living History Farms and Museums, the American Association for State and Local History, the Texas Association of Museums and the Austin Museum Partnership.
Pioneer Farms is a registered Austin Historic Landmark and a designated Heritage Tourism Destination Site. Our Pioneer School is community-education partner with the Austin Community College.
BOARD OF GOVERNORS
Michael Ward, Chairman
Kalin Johnson, Vice Chair
Rosemary M. Morrow, Secretary
John M. Mayfield, Treasurer
M. Wayne Bell, FAIA
Donna Cunningham
Rhonda Leggett
Celeste Scarborough
Robert Swim
Gene Bennett
Steven Webb
BOARD OF ADVISORS
Betsy Christian
Jack French
Andrea McWilliams
Bill Cryer
Tom Madison
Sally Hunter
George Nalle
Shawn Lavin
OPERATIONS TEAM LEADERS
Gene Bennett, Agriculture
Traf Huetson, Artifacts
Robert Swim, Artisans
Karey Oddo, Development
Rhonda Leggett, Events
Nell Cantrell, Office Support
Kandace Johnson, Registrar
Connie Creed, Textiles
Mario Trevino, Maintenance
Tiny Wilson, Housekeeping
John Gordon & Alice Bennett, Gardens
Paul Wealker, Newsletter
Christi Sanchez & Dawn Rice, General Store
Donna Cunningham, Cotton Farm
Christina Wolf, German Immigrant Farm
Rhonda Leggett, Texian Farm