1860s Living Farmstead
A Living History Attraction - Come spend a day in 1861
1860s Living
Farmstead | About the
Farm | Livestock | The Year is 1861
 The 1860s Living Farmstead is a recreated farm portraying
life in north Texas during the opening years of the Civil War. Based on
demographic & cultural research, the Farmstead is representative of the many
family held farms that made up the Dallas area during the mid-19th century. All
the buildings within the Farmstead have either been moved to Old City Park from
their original locations around the north Texas area or reconstructed based on
existing examples. They represent the typical domestic & agricultural
outbuildings that existed on farms of the period. The 1860s Living Farmstead features
first-person interpreters who assume the personas
of the characters they portray.
 Though the residents of the Farmstead are fictional, they are
composites of early settlers to the area, drawn from research on the local
people & culture of north Texas in the mid-19th century.
The settlers in this area came from many different regions &
backgrounds, but together they formed the communities & towns from which the
Dallas metroplex grew.
While the 1860s Living Farmstead is a fictional farm it serves the purpose of
interpreting & illustrating the life & times of homesteaders in north
Texas during the turbulent early days of the Civil War. The intent is not to
portray any one particular family of individuals; composite characters are being
developed to represent the complex backgrounds & relationships that existed
in most families of the time.
The Living Farmstead project is intended to give an accurate
family image, which preserves the same balance of influences found in actual
historical examples. The current 'story' of the Farmstead endeavors to reflect
the typical settlement patterns & society of the 1860s in north Texas as
reflected in demographic patterns that include census materials, & the
predominant ethnic, political, & regional backgrounds of many of the areas
residents.
The song you are hearing is "The Bonnie Blue Flag" sung to the folk melody "The
Irish Jaunting Car," with lyrics by Harry Macarthy.
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