Travel back in time to the 19th century at Central Texas' premier living history museum. Located in North Austin, the nearly 100-acre living history park offers twelve themed historic areas with historic reenactments, guided tours for schools, Texas Folk Arts School classes and workshops and an array of special events. The restored history sites range from an 1844 Tonkawa Encampment and an 1878 Texian Farm to an 1886 Cotton Planter's Farm and an 1893 Freedman's Farm. An 1899 small-town Texas village features a working blacksmith shop, dance hall, clock shop, small church, telegraph office and a general store. The volunteer-staffed site greets more than 160,000 visitors annually and features weekly historic demonstrations and events, plus farm animals ranging from donkeys, chickens and turkeys to a large urban herd of Longhorns. Pioneer Farms is open Thursday through Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Visitors can enjoy self-guided, small-group walking tours of the historic sites and extensive trails. Admission for special-event and nighttime shows, such as Halloween, Christmas and Easter shows and private programs, may be higher.

Watch our From Oppression to Prosperity video to learn more about German Texan cultural heritage in Texas. This video was produced for our German Texans mobile tour.