UNIQUE CLASSROOM
Your students will learn in a unique environment at Pioneer Farms — about history, science and nature. Our historic sites and natural areas turn into hands-on laboratories through our numerous programs for schools groups, from large to small.
Different programs are offered for various agencies — including Pre-K and Kindergarten, Grades 1-6, Middle School, even special learning opportunities for High School students. Most programs meet or exceed state TAKS requirements.
Check out our programs list for full details, schedules and pricing. We can accommodate groups from a few dozen to several hundred. Special walking tours and guided tours can be available by advance reservation.
For competitive rates and more details, please contact us at Info@PioneerFarms.org. Completion of a reservation form and payment of a $50 deposit in advance is necessary for you to reserve a field trip date for your class or school.
field trip itinerary
To make your class visit to Pioneer Farms special, and to extend the learning opportunities from the Blackland Prairie into your classroom, please follow the following itinerary during your visit.
Free parking for buses and cars ia available in our front lot. Your group will step back into the 1800s as they walk into our Sprinkle Corner Village from the lot. Classes should be kept in groups, under supervision of a teacher or chaperone. A lead teacher for your group will be briefed on your visit upon arrival
Schools should plan to arrive before or at 10 a.m., unless arranged otherwise in advance, to give your students the maximum opportunity to explore the following history sites.
A system of marked trails and pathways begins and ends at Sprinkle Corner. A museum map is available below. Your visit will move from one history site to another. Teachers are asked to keep their groups of students moving fromn one site to another to allow enough time for lunch and the return departure for your campus.
Each of our historic sites depict specific periods in Texas history.
The following times are recommended for stops at each site, so students can see and learn about as much Texas history as possible. Times may vary depending on the order in which sites are visited and the time spent at each site. Teachers and chaperones are asked to keep their groups of students moving from one site to another to allow enough time for lunch and the return departure for your campus.
10 a.m. to 10:10 a.m.
Check in at the General Store. Map location: 5
From the General Store, some groups may start their tour in the Village and others will start at adjacent sites as outlined for teachers during check in. Times for arrival and departure at sites will adjust accordingly but the overall visit will run about two hours in duration. Some groups may wish to skip some sites and spend more time at others to meet lesson plan goals of teachers.
10:10 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Stop in Sprinkle Corner represents small rural community in 1899, featuring historic buildings, homes and informative exhibits. Visit the Blacksmith Shop, Wessels Dance Hall and the Telegraph Office. Map location: 2
10:30 a.m. to 10:35 a.m.
Visit the 1893 Freedmen’s Farm, onetime home of the Dodson Family, a site just beginning restoration to showcase the successes of successful emancipated Texans. One of few early African-American farmhouses from Freedmen’s era to be preserved. Site is not staffed. Map location: 15
10:35 a.m. to 10:50 a.m.
Visit the 1866 Kruger Farm, home of a family of emigres from German to this area that shows how early settlers made Texas their home. One-room log cabin was home to 13 children and their parents. Map location: 23
10:50 a.m. to 10:55 a.m.
Walk just across the path to the 1869 Schwarzkopf Blockhouse, a restored stone fortress once built to protect Eastern European settlers from frontier marauders. Built by an early settler who accidentally blew himself up with dynamite, and never got to live there. Site not staffed. Map location: 22
10:55 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Just across the path is the onetime path of the famous Chisholm Trail, where you can stand where the famous trail moved north from Austin and see Longhorn cattle on the prairie nearby. Stand back from the fence to avoid the pointy horns. Map location: 21
11 a.m. to 11:05 a.m.
Jolly Stagecoach Stop, an actual stage cabin that displays the travails and surprises of early-day travel and where the Jolly Family from England once lived. Was the second stage stop outside Austin in the Burnet-Lampasas line. Map location: 20
11:05 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.
Just down the path to the right underneath the huge oak trees is the Tonkawa Encampment, a real First Peoples historic site showing how Texas’ indigenous residents once lived and flourished. Site is currently undergoing restoration. Map location: 26
11:15 a.m. 11:25 a.m.
Walk back up the path to visit the Jourdan Farm, home of family of early Texian settlers that highlights the can-do spirit of early Anglo settlers from Eastern States. Dog-trot style cabin with an indoor kitchen, rarely seen in earlier frontier houses because of the danger of fire. Time: 10 minutes. Map location: 19
11:25 a.m. to 11:40 a.m.
Just up the pathway is the Scarborough Barn, a circa 1850 peg-and-post handbuilt sttucture that is likely the oldest one still in agricultural use in Texas. Map location: 17
11:40 a.m. to 11:55 a.m.
Bell Farm, former home of a prominent Texas family, including dependencies, barns, gardens and outbuildings. Greek Revival-style house was built in 1859, just before the Civil War. Map location: 16
11:55 a.m. to Noon
As your group walks back toward the Sprinkle Corner village, stop at the Dessau Church, a sanctuary built in 1876 by early settlers from Germany that hosted an early congregation of formerly enslaved Texans. Elvis Presley sang gospel songs in the church during a Sunday service in 1955 after he performed the night before at the Dessau dance hall,. just across the road. Map location: 14
Noon to 1 p.m.
Return to the Sprinkle Corner to eat lunch at picnic tables, and exhibits about the Tonkawa people, the early history of Austin, a telegraph office and an exhibit of historic carriages, buggies and wagons used in Austin during the 1800s — including the Governor’s coach. Souvenirs, snacks, candy and drinks may be purchased in the General Store. Map location: 3
1 to 1:30 p.m.
Board buses in the parking lot to return to school campus.
For more details, send us a message at Info@PioneerFarms.org.
HOMESCHOOLERS
Extend your homeschool curriculum and inspire your children with an honest-to-goodness chance to step back in time — with a visit to Pioneer Farms or by volunteering as a family to learn about Lone Star history as you relive it. We offer uniquely enchanting educational opportunities along with a chance to learn in a real Little House on the Prairie environment.
We also offer special days for homeschool families to visit Pioneer Farms each fall and spring, with special admission prices. Watch our Web site for dates and details.
For more information on opportunities Pioneer Farms offers to homeschool families, please contact our Administrative Office at 512.837.1215 or send us a message at Info@PioneerFarms.org.