Pioneer Farms
Gilesburg Store - 1897
Built in 1994 as a set for a television movie, Lantern In Her Hand, this building is a close replica of Eugene V. Giles' general-merchandise store that operated in this area from 1897 until 1901. Giles' store was located less than a mile northwest of this location in Gilesburg, a tiny settlement named for his family. The town included a store and post office, and a blacksmith shop and some corrals.
Appearing much like this building, and typical of many in late 1800s Texas, Giles' store was of rough frame construction and measured approximately 16-by-20 feet, with a front gallery porch. He and several neighbors built it themselves. The porch had no steps.
On its facade were two signs: "Groceries" and "Gilesburg Post Office." As assortment of milk cans, benches and bagged goods ready for sale decorated the porch.
Giles moved his store in 1902 to the more established, but still tiny, community of Sprinkle, just southeast of Pioneer Farms. He operated the Jackson & Giles store there for several years, just across the street from the Barr Mansion, a substantial Victorian home that still stands at the corner of Springdale and Sprinkle roads.
Sources: Austin History Center, Pioneer Farms Archives.