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| drought at Pioneer Farms |
Editor's Note (2026): This visit took place in 2008 while I was volunteering at Pioneer Farms. The museum has continued to grow and evolve over the years. If you're planning a visit today, check their official website for current hours, special events, and demonstrations.
About Pioneer Farms
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Founded as a living history museum.
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Represents Texas life from the 1800s through the early 1900s.
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Historic homes relocated and preserved.
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Volunteers demonstrate everyday pioneer skills.
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One of Austin's hidden educational attractions.
What You'll See
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Historic cabins
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Blacksmith shop
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Schoolhouse
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Church
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Gardens
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Livestock
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Treadle sewing
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Wood cookstoves
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Quilting
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Farming demonstrations
I spent many years volunteering here, demonstrating pioneer skills, sewing on treadle machines, cooking over wood stoves, and visiting with guests. Those experiences later influenced many of my books and articles about preparedness, simple living, and traditional homemaking.
What Pioneer Living Taught Me
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Cooking without electricity
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Conserving water
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Sewing by hand
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Repairing instead of replacing
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Living with less
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Food preservation
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Self-reliance
Today we reached 101 degrees again. In fact, we're expecting 100+ degrees for the rest of the week. We are so desperate for rain.
We spent the day at the farm today and had about 100 visitors. I complimented them all for braving the weather. It's not easy walking outdoors under the glaring sun. The wind was blowing a little, but not enough to ease the oppressing heat.
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| The Bell House at Pioneer Farms |
I had plans to fire up the wood burning stove, bake some biscuits and have a cup of tea, but I was running late this morning. I know it sounds crazy feeding wood into a stove, when it's so hot outside, but think about how our ancestors fended for themselves. They didn't have refrigeration, or the luxury of enjoying a nice cool glass of iced tea. Food had to be cooked and prepared. With no microwave or gas stove in sight, they had to pile in the wood.
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| Volunteers preserving historic skills. |
For lunch, the kids and I dined on peanuts and raw carrots. Which was fine. When its hot, appetites aren't out of control.
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| Snacks at the Bell House |
To be honest, I think I'm getting used to the hot weather. This year, buckling down on the rising energy costs, we decided to run our air conditioner only in the evenings. For the most part, I work at home with the indoor temps at around 82 degrees. At night, before I retire to bed, I turn the air conditioner back off and run my fan. This has saved us a ton on our electric bill. I think.
I paid $254.00 today for last month's electric bill. We'll see.
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| Young volunteers at the Bell House |
Taking advantage of the shade...
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| Finding relief from the heat on the shaded porch |
With no cooking projects, I decided to tackle some sewing. It was a real lazy day and I visited with the guests as they arrived in sporadic groups. Their curiosity is so encouraging, and I never tire of their questions.
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| Treadle Sewing Machine |
I'm not a "quilter" so I tackled a basic block pattern. It has been a while since I've ran a treadle sewing machine, so at first, I wrestled with the wheel. If you don't get the momentum right, the wheel will spin backwards and start to stitch the opposite direction. This includes keeping the treadle going forward as it too wants to switch directions. After about 4 tries, I started to get the swing of things and began sewing my blocks together.
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| sewing quilt pieces on the treadle sewing machine |
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| 1800 skills - hand sewing |
To reinforce the stitches, I hand sewed over the seams.
This worked out so well, I think I'm going to work on a full-size quilt. It was a fun and relaxing afternoon.
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| Demonstrating pioneer quilting techniques. |
My finished project!
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| Singer Treadle Sewing Machine |
Some of the quilt samples that fellow volunteers have sewn at the farm...
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| beautiful quilt sewn from treadle sewing machine |
Looking Back
Volunteering at Pioneer Farms gave me a deeper appreciation for the skills that earlier generations relied on every day. Many of those experiences continue to influence my homesteading, preparedness, and sewing projects today. Looking back, those hot Texas summers around the wood stove taught me that self-reliance isn't just history—it's still relevant today.
2 comments:
You should save the stitching by hand over the machine stitches until it is time to hand quilt it, that way you "kill two birds with one stone"!
You're making me miss my old treadle machine. It was so peaceful to sew on it.
What a shame we can't share some of our rain with you.. we have way too much and the rivers are predicted to flood even worse then it did in 93. People are already sand bagging and expecting the worse.
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