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We recently took a family trip to Pioneer Farms in Austin. And by field trip I mean we spent some time walking through the display of old things while snapping at the kids for not touching anything, followed by lunch of chik-fil-a-nuggets in a park.
As it may sound, it was a really fun and educational time. Part of the training was learning how 19th-century settlers lived in Texas, and part of it was showing a three-year-old around historic buildings being a terrible idea.
I have to give the farm credit for being very reluctant and low-key when it comes to kids running around providing self-guided access to so many buildings. There are many things a 3 year old can fall into, above, below, behind, or through that make them some sort of parental challenge.
On the other hand, it may be evidence of the triviality of modern Texans that lofts with no railings, unmarked cliffs, and the occasional aggressive donkey seem dangerous.
Granted, we must have looked like the least able family in Pioneer Farms history when we wandered the grounds and couldn’t find our way to the second part of the farms. The early settlers sailed from Germany to Texas and then made their way through the wilderness to settle in Fredericksburg, Pflugerville, and New Braunfels.
Me? I couldn’t get past the gift shop 100 yards before taking the wrong turn and leading the family to the maintenance barn, which was definitely not part of the Pioneer Farm exhibit. My boys now believe that Central Texans had John Deer tractors and Chevy pickups in the 1840s.
I finally figured out the way to the back of the property (and still blamed an inexplicable “Wrong Way” sign on the way) and into Pioneer Land. There are some really beautiful buildings and great examples of traditional houses that give a perspective of how far we have come (or maybe how far we have come) from these simpler, agrarian times.
Our visit was on a picturesque autumn day when the porches are idyllic and the interiors of the houses are perfectly comfortable. Reading the posters on the “Dogtrot” houses will remind you how easy it is to romanticize these people’s difficult lifestyles and forget about the other eight months of the year when it’s stuffy inside without air conditioning. And also that the outbuildings on the property weren’t bizarre backyard houses.
The boys really enjoyed seeing the chickens, longhorns and horses around the property and I really enjoyed getting lost in the less than 100 acre fenced property just one more time. Look, the farm had a special “Pumpkin Night” for Halloween and some of the fences were blocking part of the way so I thought it was the end of the way and it wasn’t. When I found a map at the entrance showing that we missed the Indian tipis, we had to go back a mile to find them.
I tell you, in the pioneering days there were families who loaded their wagons to go west but returned to town a week later because they couldn’t leave Delaware. They were my ancestors.
Despite some navigation difficulties, our visit to Pioneer Farms was a great time and I highly recommend it as a family outing. But maybe you take a compass with you. Just in case.
Harris and his wife live in Pflugerville with their six sons. Please email any comments or suggestions for future columns to Thoughtforcaleb@gmail.com.
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https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2021/12/04/daddy-days-pioneer-day/8744704002/
