[Field Trip] Pioneer Farms

Some of our families met up for a field trip to Pioneer Farms on their homeschooling day. It was neat to step back in time to the 1800's and explore Texas' frontier past when family farms were the heart and soul of Texas. Most of the buildings at Pioneer Farms have been relocated here to save them from demolition. They have been placed to replicate their original environment as closely as possible. There was so much there, we didn't even get to explore it all.















Fredric Kruger Farm, a German Immigrant Homestead in the 1860's.
This one room cabin was built around 1867 by German immigrants who settled near the intersection of Dessau Road and Yager Lane, about a mile away. It represents a common housing style of the era, more Spartan than the other farmsteads. Front and rear porches extended the sheltered living areas of the cabin and a loft above the main room was used as a sleeping area for the children; the Krugers had 13.




Adjacent to the cabin are a modest barn and a chicken yard, a covered outdoor kitchen that was used both in winter and in summer, and a kitchen garden that follows a tradition of that period of intermixing various plants.










James Bell Farm. A Cotton Planter's Homestead in the 1880's.



This home was of a well-to-do family in the 1880's. Furnishings inside this house reflect the simple elegance of the day. There were so  many homeschooling families there that day, I couldn't even get inside the main house to get a clear photo. Behind the house is this separate kitchen and also a spinning room - common features of the era.















An amazing grand old tree. Many of the trees are nearly 100 years old.