1400 Pioneer Farms Drive
Austin, TX 78754
11418 Sprinkle Cut-Off Road
Austin, TX 78754
Wednsdays and Fridays, 9-2 (Fall and Spring)
Sundays 1-5 (Year-round)
Thursdays and Saturdays, open for special events. Check Web for details.
Adults $8, children $6.
Admission varies for special events.
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Michael Ward
phone: 512-837-1215
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Kalin Johnson
phone: 512-837-1215
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Rosemary Morrow
phone: 512-837-1215
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John Mayfield
phone: 512-837-1215
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Rhonda Leggett
phone: 512-837-1215
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Karey Nalle Oddo
phone: 512-837-1215
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Celeste Scarborough
phone: 512-837-1215
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Robert Swim
phone: 512-837-1215
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Angela Walters
phone: 512-837-1215
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Pioneer Farms is a living history museum depicting the lifestyle of early-day Texans - when Austin was just a small town, long before cars and cell phones had been invented, when bonnets and buggies were in vogue. Pioneer Farms is a volunteer-run property of the Heritage Society of Austin, one of Texas' oldest organizations dedicated to historic preservation.
Step back in time for a variety of educational programs for both children and adults.
Our museum features three historic farmsteads and an entry village, plus acres of prairie pastures, farmyards and wildlife. Each is interpreted just as life would have been in the 1800s on Central Texas' Blacklands Prairie.
In the fall of 1844, Texas Ranger Lt. James O. Rice, an original settler of Austin, laid claim to 1,280 acres of virgin land at the northward crossing of Walnut Creek - including the land that now includes Pioneer Farms. The site edged the Blackland Prairie with its tall grasses and ancient live oaks, and once hosted the Tonkawa Indians in a creek side campsite.
In 1852, Frederick and Harriet Jourdan settled on the land with eight children and nine slaves, and eventually amassed a 2,000-acre farm.
In 1956, the Jourdan grandchildren, Laura and Eugene Giles, donated the core of their grandparents' property to the Heritage Society of Austin for a park to honor early- day settlers.
Pioneer Farms is managed and staffed solely by volunteers who are working to keep Texas history alive.
"Oh, Pioneers!" highlights the histories of several important early-day settlers to this area, including the Jourdans, the Bachmans, the Aynesworths and the Bells. Through preserved artifacts and flowing narratives, this exhibit is sure to please from the biggest to the littlest pioneers in your family.
"Writing History" is a display of inkwells that once belonged to governors, famous historical figures and every-day Texans - made from fancy glass, shiny brass, wood from a famous battleship, even a horse's hoof. One of the most incredibly intriguing displays of a bygone necessity, with a history of each inkwell.
Step back in time for a variety of educational programs for both children and adults.
Included are from our popular weekday Daily Life on the Prairie for children, to our acclaimed Pioneer School classes and work- shops that meet on weekends.
Nine-member Board of Governors.
Access: Students, Scholars, Staff Only, Members
Appointment required: Yes
Quarterly newsletter, Pioneer Farms Gazette;annual report, annual almanac, booklets for Pioneer School educational programs (seasonal); sales catalog of Heritage Artisans merchandise made at Pioneer Farms (twice a year).
Pioneer Farms Gazette
Pioneer Farms Annual Report
Frontier Merchant sales catalog
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