Pioneer Farms, Austin, Texas

Happy customers leave Jackson and Giles General Merchandise with "provisions." Credit: Rennie Palmer

A hint of wood smoke greets passersby to the diminutive, rustic, one-room cabin, welcoming them even before they reach the front porch. Several “neighbors” sit on rockers, listening as the homesteader regales them with stories of ongoing challenge and personal triumph on the frontier of Central Texas.

That image may seem like one drawn from a movie or a book, but it’s not. It’s the type of encounter anticipated by visitors to Pioneer Farms in northeast Austin. Bringing frontier history to life for modern Texans is the mission of this 90-acre “living history park.”

Visitors to Pioneer Farms will enter through Sprinkle Corner, a reconstruction of a real town that once existed about a mile to the southeast. The General Store is the dominant feature of Sprinkle Corner, and it offers a variety of souvenirs as well as refreshments.

Most of the buildings on site are authentic, although all but one were moved to their present location. The Frederick Jourdan home, first built as a corn crib about 1836, was later converted into a “dogtrot” style home. It still sits where it was originally built.

Not far from the Frederick Jourdan Farm is Artisans Acre, which includes the hand-built Scarborough Barn dating from about 1852. Other points of interest include a blacksmith shop, a windmill, and a Swedish silo.

The smallest home in Pioneer Farms is a one-room cabin with a small loft. German immigrant Fredric Kruger built this home in 1867. It’s difficult for modern “guests” of the Krugers to imagine them rearing their 13 children in such a tiny space.

Other points of interest at Pioneer Farms are the James Bell Farm, the home of a wealthy cotton farmer, and the Tonkawa Encampment. The replica Native American teepees and artifacts are situated on the actual location of a Tonkawa camp site from 200 years ago.

Pioneer Farms also offers classes in blacksmithing, woodworking, weaving, basket-weaving, crocheting, knitting, quilting, leather-working, candlemaking, cheesemaking and Dutch-oven cooking.

The official name of the park is Jourdan-Bachman Pioneer Farms Living History Park. The address is 10621 Pioneer Farms Drive in Austin. From I-35, take Braker Lane east to Dessau Road, then head north to the continuation of East Braker Lane. Turn right and drive east to Pioneer Farms Road. Turn right and continue to the parking area at the end of the road. Admission is $8 for adults and $6 for children. Groups of 20 or more pay $5 per person.

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Round Rock and the Chisholm Trail

Bronze sculptures of Texas longhorns commemorate cattle drives and pioneers. Credit: Rennie Palmer

Clear, cool water darts and spins and slices across the rocks. Brushy Creek continues relentlessly, much as it has for centuries, even as the small city of Round Rock, Texas has grown up around its banks.

Round Rock owes much to the little creek. It was this creek that gave life to the community, first called by its name, Brushy Creek. Even when the name was changed to Round Rock in 1854, the name was a gift from the stream. Centuries of driving, pulsing water had carved a table-shaped round rock from shapeless stone, much as the pioneers of Texas carved their destiny out of the frontier.

Long before European settlers ventured into Texas, Native Americans considered the instantly recognizable round rock to be a marker of a shallow part of Brushy Creek easy to cross. Pioneers soon considered the round rock area a great place for wagons to ford the creek, and the community was born. Visitors to the area can still see 130-year-old wagon ruts in the creek bed.

Texas cattlemen, driving their herds north from San Antonio to the railhead in Abilene, Kansas, also forded the creek at this spot. The famous round rock is still visible today from Chisholm Trail Road, which derives its name from the legendary route of Texas cowboys driving their longhorns to market.

Today a lovely little park straddles Brushy Creek close to the legendary round rock. A walking path leads from Chisholm Trail Road across the stream to a grassy area with a children’s playground. On the other side of Chisholm Trail Road, and just south of Brushy Creek, are bronze cattle that commemorate the trail drives and the early settlers.

To visit Round Rock Memorial Park, take the Round Rock Avenue exit (252B from the south, 253A from the north) and head east. Take the first left on North Lee Street and continue for about a quarter mile. To see the wagon ruts, the round rock and the bronze statues, you’ll need to take the walking path west under the interstate to Chisholm Trail Road. (There is no parking on this street.)

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Historic Downtown Round Rock, Texas

Historic J.A. Nelson & Company building, dated 1900. Credit: Rennie Palmer

Visions of early Texas pioneers doggedly pursuing their dreams. Nostalgic scenes that reflect a slower-paced “Main Street” America. Images of a famous gun battle between Texas Rangers and legendary train robber Sam Bass. These eclectic thoughts impress themselves on visitors to historic downtown Round Rock, a city just minutes north of Austin.

When you first drive into the historic downtown area, “quaint” might be the first word that comes to mind. Old buildings from 100 years ago have been restored, now housing a variety of restaurants, coffee shops, and professional offices.

Nestled among these buildings is the Palm House Museum at 212 East Main Street. Built in 1873 by Swedish settler Andrew J. Palm, the cypress-and-pine house is great example of frontier construction. Two of Palm’s daughters donated the house, which was moved to its current location in 1976. The museum, which occupies the first two rooms, shares the building with the Round Rock Chamber of Commerce. Museum admission is free.

Just a few steps away is the Round Rock Public Library. Visitors to the library can see the original gravestone of Sam Bass, a renowned train robber mortally wounded in Round Rock by Texas Rangers in 1878. Bass and his gang captured the public imagination through a series of train and stagecoach robberies, including a bold holdup of a Union Pacific gold train in Nebraska that netted the gang $60,000. He is buried in the Round Rock Cemetary a few miles from the historic downtown area.

Just east of the old downtown area are some of the oldest homes in Round Rock. Some of these older homes are large and stately, and some are more modest, yet all of them exude the charm of a different time in Texas.

To get to the historic downtown area, take the Round Rock Avenue exit (Exit 252B) from Interstate 35. Drive east approximately half a mile, where Round Rock Avenue converges with Main Street at Mays Street. The old town area begins just east of this point.

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Austin Nature and Science Center, Austin, Texas

Entrance to the center. Credit: Rennie Palmer

“Don’t touch” are words your children will not hear at the Austin Nature and Science Center. In fact, they will be encouraged to explore the world of science first-hand.

At the Naturalist Workshop your children can touch and handle animal bones, skulls, horns and shells. They can handle snake skins, feathers and fossils, or they can examine specimens through a microscope. And if your children are collectors, they can trade shells, bones and other natural artifacts at the Trade Counter.

Aspiring young paleontologists will want to visit the Dino Pit, where they will unearth replicas of dinosaur fossils that have been found in Texas. Adjacent to the Dino Pit is a pretty little pond where children can learn about Texas wetlands creatures.

At its wildlife exhibits, the center cares for more than 90 injured animals that cannot return to the wild. Among them are a bobcat, a coyote, and a variety of birds, including owls and hawks.

The center offers an impressive schedule of specialty summer camps. Among the offerings are Adventures in Archaeology, Nature Photography, and Caves and Aquifers.

The Austin Nature and Science Center is at the western end of Zilker Park. It is open to the public from 9 a.m. through 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and from noon until 5 p.m. Sunday. The center also accommodates group tours.

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Austin Zoo and Animal Sanctuary

A llama at the Austin Zoo and Animal Santuary. Credit: Rennie Palmer

Tucked away in the Texas Hill Country just west of town, the Austin Zoo and Animal Sanctuary shelters more than 300 animals representing 100 species. Among the more exotic creatures housed at the zoo are a variety of Great Cats, including Bengal tigers and jaguars.

Since 2010 the zoo has also been home to a pair of African lions believed to belong to the subspecies of Barbary lions, now extinct in the wild. This pair has been bred, producing two cubs. The zoo has also provided DNA samples to the Barbary Lion Project.

The zoo is not large, so visitors who expect an attraction comparable to more famous, well-funded organizations such as the San Diego Zoo may be disappointed. On the other hand, individuals looking for a more relaxed and intimate setting will enjoy the Austin Zoo.

Situated on land once occupied by a goat ranch, the zoo began in 1990 as the Good Day Ranch, which was established to provide a home for animals in need. The ranch changed its name to the Austin Zoo and Animal Sanctuary in 1994.

Because its mission is to rescue animals in need, the zoo provides opportunities not available at bigger zoos. Volunteers may help with animal care, landscaping and office work. The zoo also seeks the help of groups for special projects.

Guests who care to interact with some of the domestic animals on site may pet, or even feed, goats, sheep and llamas and deer. Children will also enjoy a train ride through the grounds.

The zoo is open daily from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. from February 1 through October 31, and from 10 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. November 1 through January 31. The zoo is closed Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

To reach the zoo, drive west on U.S. Highway 290 out of Austin. Turn right on Circle Drive. After a little more than a mile, turn right on Rawhide Trail. You will not see a sign for the zoo until you reach Rawhide Trail. The zoo is at 10807 Rawhide Trail.

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Laguna Gloria, Austin, Texas

This early 20th Century villa captures the spirit of Italian architecture. Credit: Rennie Palmer

Driving through gates that once hung at the Texas Capitol, visitors to Laguna Gloria enter an oasis in which time no longer seems relevant. Ironically, the garden was initially designed to evoke a sense of the passing of time. The garden once included a sundial, and statues of the Four Seasons still stand on the north side of the house.

Hal and Clara Sevier built the villa in 1916 on land once owned by Stephen F. Austin. Clara immediately set about recreating the romance of her Italian honeymoon in 1906, weaving elements of Italian art, classical mythology and Texas history into the lovely natural setting at the base of Mount Bonnell.

The upper garden areas are more structured and formal, in keeping with the European ideals of symmetry and harmony with a “limited plant palette.” In contrast, the lower gardens are more rustic and natural. Descending the flagstone steps from the upper gardens onto a dirt trail, visitors enter a lush wetlands world of its own. Indigenous cedars, wild laurel and stately live oaks can be found throughout the property, but the upper gardens also include crepe myrtles, Italian cypress and Lombardy poplar.

The Seviers were both involved in politics. Hal, who owned the Austin American newspaper, was the first president of the Austin Public Library Association. Before she married Hal, Clara (then Driscoll) became known as the savior of the Alamo for donating the money that prevented a hotel from purchasing the Alamo convent.

Laguna Gloria was entered in the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, and became a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1983.

The Austin Museum of Art now owns Laguna Gloria. The grounds and villa are open to the public daily, with a $3 per person suggested donation. Docent-led tours of the villa are also available. The grounds may be rented for weddings and other events.

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Covert Park at Mount Bonnell, Austin, Texas

Friends share a moment on the northwest side of Covert Park. Credit: Rennie Palmer

Stories of romance, mystery and tragedy populate the nearly 200-year recorded history of Mount Bonnell in Austin, Texas. As early as the 1850s, residents of Austin regularly trekked to the mountain top for picnics and other activities. Since 1938 the summit has been part of the 54-acre Covert Park, named for benefactor Frank Covert.

 

At approximately 780 feet above sea level, Mount Bonnell is often falsely credited as the highest spot in Austin. That honor actually belongs to the Jollyville Plateau, at an elevation of 1,100 feet. Even so, the summit of Mount Bonnell provides spectacular views of Lake Austin and the Colorado River valley 200 feet below.

Visitors can choose one of two ways to the summit. They can climb the 106 steps along a stone staircase, or they can take the more leisurely hike along a gravel-and-dirt path from the northwest end of the park. According to local folklore, a couple climbing the stairs together will fall in love. The hike, which is less than a third of a mile, might be considered “safer” by some folks!

There is some confusion about the namesake of Mount Bonnell. Most sources indicate the mountain was named after George W. Bonnell, who founded the Texas Sentinel in 1840 after he moved to Austin. Other sources point to Joseph Bonnell, a recognized hero of the Texas Revolution and friend of Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston. Unfortunately, there is no solid documentation to support either claim.

One oft-repeated legend asserts that the mountain was once named Antoinette’s Leap after a young woman jumped to her death to avoid capture by the Native Americans who had killed her lover. It’s easy for the modern hiker to envision that tragic scene while following the short trail as it runs along an impressive cliffside.

Northwest from the summit is the Pennybacker Bridge on Highway 360. Built of steel designed to rust to a uniform golden color, the bridge easily blends with its environment. The view from the summit of Mount Bonnell is exceptional. On the southwest side of the park visitors can see the entire skyline of downtown Austin.

There is no admission to the park. Dogs are allowed, but bicycles are not. To reach the park from Highway 360, take RM Road 2222 southeast to Mount Bonnell Road. Turn right and head to the top. From the MoPac Freeway, take the 35th Street exit to the west. Turn left on Old Bull Creek Road, then right on Mount Bonnell Road.

In 1969 Mount Bonnell became a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark (marker 6743).

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Walnut Creek Metropolitan Park, Austin, Texas

Austin cyclists enjoy 11 miles of trails through a miniature wilderness. Credit: Rennie Palmer

Knee-high wild grasses sway in the gentle breeze, as though politely acknowledging my passing on the rutted path. I’m not really far from the parking lot, but everywhere I look, I see only beauty, and I revel in this oasis of peace in the midst of north Austin. If you haven’t yet discovered Walnut Creek Metropolitan Park, you’re in for a pleasant surprise when you first visit.

The 293-acre park boasts 11 miles of trails winding through a miniature wilderness, crossing Walnut Creek four times. The trails are mostly dirt, but include stony patches, and even sections of gravel. None of the trails is paved, but there are close to 100 trail markers. The main trails are relatively easy, though some of the smaller offshoots present minor challenges to hikers and cyclists.

Dog-owners love this park. So do the dogs—they can run free on many of the trails, and a romp in the creek presents no real dangers for them.

The park’s amenities include a public swimming pool, softball fields, basketball courts, and a volleyball court. There is a playground for smaller children, as well as picnic tables and barbecue grills in several locations throughout the park.

Walnut Creek Metropolitan Park is at 12138 North Lamar Drive in north Austin. Take Yager Lane west from I-35 to Lamar Boulevard, then turn south. Almost immediately you’ll see Walnut Creek Park Road to the right. A second entrance is off Parmer Lane.

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