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| Pioneer Farms 2011 |
The War at Home 1863 event is a semi-immersion,
civilian-centered event in Texas. The nature of the event means that interaction will be largely unscripted and unpredictable,
allowing all participants to react in character as events naturally unfold.
Participants develop impressions such
as the town doctor, lawyer, business owner, an itinerant worker, or a family down on their luck, and develop detailed backgrounds
for these impressions.
Texas Ranger Lt. James O. Rice, an original Austin settler, laid claim
to 1,280 acres at the northward crossing of Walnut Creek in the fall of 1844 — including the site of Pioneer Farms. Eight years later, in 1852, Frederick and Harriet B. Jourdan settled on the site with
eight children, and eventually amassed a 2,000-acre farm. In 1956, the Jourdan grandchildren, Laura and Eugene Giles, donated
the core of their grandparents’ property to the Heritage Society of Austin for a park to honor early-day settlers. Staffed solely by volunteers, the 90 acre living
history museum is managed by a Board of Governors that oversees operations. Pioneer Farms is a registered Austin Landmark,
a designated Austin Heritage Tourism Site, an official Heritage Travel Destination of the National Trust for Historic Preservation
and a Texas Historical Commission Hill Country Heritage Site.
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