Pioneer Farms Experience in Austin, Texas

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Pioneer Farms Experience

If you live in or plan to visit Austin, Texas anytime soon you should plan a day to visit the Pioneer Farms.

I recently had the privilege of going on a school field trip with my daughters class. We had a blast learning about how cotton was king in Texas!

Pioneer Farms is located at 10621 Pioneer Farms Drive in northeast Austin, just east of Interstate 35. Exit I-35 at Braker Lane, go east and follow the signs. From Parmer Lane, a mile north of Braker, go east to Dessau Road (third traffic light), turn right and go to Braker Lane East (first traffic light).

At Pioneer Farms, you’ll find 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 Sprinkle Corner rural village. In each area you can see and smell Texas history first-hand. Explore more than 90 beautiful, wooded acres and discover exciting, memorable ways to experience Texas’ past with your family.

Don’t miss the Scarborough Barn where you can get up close with your favorite farm animal friends! There are also very friendly farm cats that walk all over the land and sometimes follow you along the way. All the kids got the biggest kick out of these cats! Thank goodness they were very patient and friendly animals. I figured they must be used to all the kids.

We all received many “quick” lessons about the history and lifestyles of the wealthy to the poor along the way. The most memorable for me was the talk about the runes and how they would use them to tell your fortune. Here’s a glimpse of these stones.

Talk about inspiring! I’ve already looked up a few books to read a bit more about the history of Runes. Here’s a book I just found on the Amazon Best Seller list: A Practical Guide to the Runes: Their Uses in Divination and Magic (Llewellyn’s New Age)

I think the next thing that stuck out to me the most was how a middle class family with 12 children built a simple two room house with a tiny upstairs with a breezeway between both of the rooms. One Room was for the parents. The other room was the family room and the upstairs room was were all the children slept! One room for all twelve children! Can you imagine?! They also mentioned how the children would sometimes sleep in the breezeway patio in the summer because it would be too hot upstairs.

It’s still hard to believe how they lived from the outhouses in the backyard to the kitchens built away from the house to prevent fires.

Be sure to check out the Pioneer Farms calendar for special events throughout the year. They also have an opportunity for volunteers as well. Oh, and did you know you can rent out a spot for a party?! I was thinking this place would be ideal for a family reunion or even a rustic type wedding. The landscaping of the land is absolutely beautiful and well preserved.

Be sure to check out our YouTube Video of all the beautiful photos that were taken along our way. Of course this is nothing compared to seeing this in person but at least it will give you an idea.