Upcoming events at Log Cabin Village...

Wow! What a great fall line-up! Mark your calendars...it wouldn't be the same without you!

Please note: The Village will be closed for maintenance August 22-September 5, 2011.

September 18 & 24, October 2 & 15, 2011
BUTTERMILK JUNCTION OLD TIME STRING BAND
1-4 p.m.
Come enjoy the delightful sounds of Buttermilk Junction, an Old-Time & Anglo-Celtic band, from right here in Fort Worth. They play and sing historical "Roots Music" - tunes and songs from frontier Texas of the mid to late 1800s. No reservations required. Cost is regular Village admission.

September 24, 2011
DAY IN THE DISTRICT
Noon-4 p.m.
Celebrate Smithsonian Museum Day and Fort Worth’s “Day in the District” at the Village! Enjoy a day full of music and living history for the whole family. Admission is FREE for this day only!

October 15, 2011
FRONTIER FALL FEST
1-4 p.m.
Grab your pumpkins and shock your corn...it’s time for a good old-fashioned Frontier Fall Fest! You’ll be able to grind grain by hand, shell corn, thresh wheat, “bob” for apples, press tortillas and more. We’ll also have help celebrating the harvest with friends from the Greater Fort Worth Herb Society, Silversmyth Julie Hiltbrunner, Wyatt Earp dealing the card game Faro, Cooper Dan “Five Buckets” Tatum, and Buttermilk Junction Old Time String Band, just to name a few! Bring your own carved or painted pumpkin to enter our “best design” contest (judging at 3 p.m.) For a small additional fee, you can even make your own festive corn husk doll and/or copper bracelet to take home! Cost is regular Village admission plus $3 craft fee for corn husk doll and $5 craft fee for copper bracelet.

November 12, 2011
PHOTOS WITH ST. NICHOLAS
1-4 p.m.
Time to start thinking about those holiday cards! Come have your photos taken with our historic St. Nick! No reservations required. Cost is regular Village admission plus a $5 fee for photo and folder.

November 12, 13, 19, & 20, 2011
CANDLE-DIPPING
1-4 p.m.
It’s candle-making time! Come dip your own candles to take home. No reservations required. Cost is regular Village admission plus a $3 fee to dip candles.

December 17, 2011
HOLIDAYS AT THE HEARTH
1-4 p.m.
Enjoy holiday music, string popcorn and cranberries, spin the dreidel, help make pomander balls, tamales, paper chains, embossed cards, ornaments, and more! You can even have your photo taken with our historic St. Nick ($5 fee for photo and folder). No reservations required. Cost is regular Village admission plus a $2 craft fee to make a punched tin ornament.

Chicken and cornbread and beans...oh my!

We had the best time at the "Whatcha Got Cooking?" daycamp this morning! Thanks so much to our "cast iron" chefs and the Village People for another great program!

Photos can be found on Facebook...

The Cottage on Crestline Gets a Makeover...

Blog entry courtesy Kelli Pickard, Log Cabin Village and Van Zandt Cottage Director

The historic Van Zandt Cottage sits, unassuming, in a grove of trees on Crestline Road at the edge of Trinity Park. I like to think that the Cottage ponders its past as it gazes at its modern surroundings. It recalls the days in the 1860s that it was constructed of mortised timber framing with a raised wood framed floor. The days that the land on which it was constructed spread out roughly to what is now Montgomery Street to the west, 7th Street to the north, the river to the east, and I-30 to the south.

The land was owned by many people, but the A.G. Scoggin family bought it in 1866. The Cottage was part of the land purchase started by Major K.M. Van Zandt in 1869. The Van Zandt family lived in the Cottage from around 1872 until 1878 when they moved to a larger residence on the corner of Penn Street and Johnson Avenue. The Van Zandt family retained ownership of the home until 1936.

The City of Fort Worth purchased the Cottage along with most of the current Cultural District from the K.M. Van Zandt Land Company on March 6, 1936 for $150,000 in connection with the construction of the Will Rogers Memorial Center and the Frontier Center for the Texas Centennial. The home was then restored by and placed under the guardianship of the Daughters of the Confederacy and the Daughters of the Republic of Texas (who withdrew their support shortly after the restoration to focus on the Alamo).

The Ethel N. Nichols – Van Zandt Cottage Foundation contracted with the City of Fort Worth from 1965 to 1996 to care for the home. On September 16, 1996, the maintenance, preservation and management of the Cottage reverted back to the Parks and Community Services Department under the care of the staff at Log Cabin Village since the Cottage is a 19th century structure.

On November 21, 2000, the Parks and Community Services Advisory Board endorsed the Master Plan for the Van Zandt Cottage, the oldest home in Fort Worth still on its original foundation and a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark. The adopted Master Plan included construction of an office with a separate climate/humidity-controlled storage area for artifacts and a handicapped accessible restroom; accessible flagstone walkways and parking area; removal of post-1936 restroom; and, total restoration of the 1850s era cottage.

Some of the early achievements of the Master Plan were: Phase I - the construction of an exterior restroom and storage facility on the grounds along with accessible walkway and parking area (May 2002); Phase II - the removal of the mid-1900s era restroom on the back of the Cottage (February 2003); Phase III - the removal of small artifacts (April 2003); Phase IV - exterior cleaned and painted; shutters and chimneys repaired; rear porch constructed (all in April 2004); and the completion of a restoration plan (March 2005).

With funding from the Van Zandt Cottage Trust Fund, established by donations from the dissolved Ethel N. Nichols - Van Zandt Cottage Foundation and continuing individual contributions, a Restoration Plan was commissioned with Arthur Weinman Architects in 2005. The results of this plan were a comprehensive internal and external examination of the condition and history of the 19th century home.

The Restoration Plan was shared with the Board of Directors of the Van Zandt Cottage Friends, a non-profit 501(c)(3) established in November 2004, at their March 5, 2005, Board meeting. The plan for the Cottage was then approved by the Parks and Community Services Advisory Board on July 19, 2005.

Once the Friends formed, the City of Fort Worth and the Cottage had a partner in preservation and fundraising. A key element of the Restoration Plan was finally achieved – the stabilization of the historic foundation. This started Phase V of the master plan. In the summer of 2007, the entire house was raised, and a perimeter beam foundation placed underneath the historic log beam foundation. The Cottage was now stable enough to start tackling the rest of its restoration needs.

The restoration process is progressing now from the outside-in. By working first on the protective exterior shell, we can then move to the inside and work on more cosmetic issues such as trim, wallpaper and painting. The Friends of the Cottage have recently funded the restoration of the Cottage windows (May-June 2011). This process is almost complete and will be followed immediately by repair work on the front door and restoration of the shutters. The Van Zandt Cottage serves as an excellent example of the importance of partnerships, preservation, and stewardship of our historic resources.

Upcoming events...

May 13, 2011
TIMBER TALES STORYTIME
10-11 a.m.
Featured story: My Great Aunt Arizona by Gloria Houston. $4 fee includes a story, fun activities, and a craft, all geared towards 3-5 year olds. Please call 817-392-5881 to make your reservation (required).

May 13, 2011
TIMBER TALES SIGN LANGUAGE STORYTIME
11 a.m.-noon
Note: this storytime is especially for our deaf and hearing impaired visitors.
Featured story: Going West by Laura Ingalls Wilder. $4 fee includes a story, fun activities, and a craft, all geared towards 3-7 year olds. Please call 817-392-5881 to make your reservation (required).

May 13-14, 2011
FRONTIER FORTS DAYS IN THE STOCKYARDS
It’s time for us to help show life on the homefront! During this free, two-day heritage event, the Stockyards National Historic District is transformed into an authentic representation of Texas frontier life, and we’ll have interpreters there to help tell the story. We’ll still be here at the Village, too, though...so come visit us either place!

May 15, 2011
BUTTERMILK JUNCTION OLD TIME STRING BAND
1-4 p.m.
Come enjoy the delightful sounds of Buttermilk Junction , an Old-Time & Anglo-Celtic band, from right here in Fort Worth. They play and sing historical "Roots Music" - tunes and songs from frontier Texas of the mid to late 1800s. No reservations required. Cost is regular Village admission.

June 9, 2011
WHATCHA GOT COOKING DAYCAMP
9 a.m.-noon
How did people cook food before electric/gas stoves and microwaves? They mixed a pinch of skill, a dash of creativity, and a liberal serving of patience, and came up with delicious recipes to satisfy their whole family! Participants for this camp will learn a bit about 19th century food preparation and prepare a meal of their own with fellow campers! $15 admission includes materials, snack, and recipes to take home. Reservations required by June 2. Camp is for children going into 4th-8th grade. Download registration form here.

June 10, 15, or 22, 2011 (pick one only)
WAGONS WEST
9 a.m.-noon
Be a 19th century Texan for a day! Wagons West is a program of hands-on activities recreating elements of a typical school-age child's day. The children wash clothes using a washboard and lye soap, card wool, grind corn by hand and weave on a child's scale loom. This popular group program is open for individuals on these three days only! $15 admission includes materials and a snack. Reservations required one week prior. Program is for children going into 1st--6th grade.
Download registration form here.

June 16, 2011
TOOLIN’ AROUND DAYCAMP
9 a.m.-noon
If you’re wondering what tools helped build the frontier, then this camp is for you! Join our skilled woodworker as he introduces basic 19th century woodworking techniques and helps campers complete a project of their own! $15 admission includes materials and a snack. Reservations required by June 9. Camp is for children going into 4th-8th grade. Download registration form here.

July and August 2011
NO SPECIAL EVENTS
While we will be open and providing daily demonstrations of frontier life, no special events will be offered in July and August. Stay tuned for our exciting fall line up!

August 23-September 5, 2011
CLOSED FOR MAINTENANCE
Log Cabin Village will close for maintenance during this time. We apologize for any inconvenience.

The importance of roots...

Here at the Village, we're in the business of the past. We learn the past, we teach the past, we demonstrate the past, we live the past. Looking at the roots of our history and ancestors is something we do on a daily basis without even thinking about it. And the roots run deep.

Trees are something we also think about on a daily basis. We're surrounded by them. Our buildings are made from them. They shade us, protect us, and provide homes for the many animals we share our acreage with. Their roots run deep as well.

But occasionally, despite history and time, those roots fail. Particularly when large trees in dry soil are faced with wind gusts up to 60 mph, as happened this past April 15. It's been a windy spring, but by and large we've fared well in the weather with only a few downed limbs. Even our trees with their deep roots, however, are not immune to exceptional winds.

We're fortunate that the large tree that blew over only took out part of our fence line along University Drive and not a cabin or something more serious. And less than two weeks later, our fence is repaired (new!) and the Village continues in the business of historical rather than arboral roots.

Please find a photo slideshow of the exciting process embedded. Click on the slideshow to make it larger and/or to control the speed. The photos and captions tell the whole story.

Every day was Earth Day on the frontier!

Happy Earth Day, y'all!!! In honor of this special day, I'm "recycling" a post I did a few years ago about our "green" ancestors...

Please also remember that you can always find out more information about ways to protect Mother Earth (and our fair city) at Keep Fort Worth beautiful...

Pioneers were "green" before "green" was cool...

Enjoy your day and weekend! And remember...we'll be at Prairie Fest tomorrow, April 23, (but still open here on site as well)...

Goodies in our museum store!

Greetings, Village People!

This story will be primarily told with pictures. And if a picture's worth a thousand words, then get ready for a whole lotta photographic talking! We are very excited to be able to feature several new items in our museum store. Some of them are bought from other distributors, but much of our new merchandise is made by our talented historical interpreters right here on site! And so, without further ado, we present, "what's new in the Village store."

We love, love, love these little ladies. These clothespin dolls are handmade by Dallas Heritage Village volunteer Barbara. They generously allow us to purchase quantities of these beauties to sell to our Village "westside" visitors.

We mentioned these adorable sweeties recently. They are currently handmade on site by historical interpreters Kessy, Jeanie, Teresa, Marcela, and Linda. We hope to have a couple more in stock very soon! Stay tuned...

While we don't produce these on site, we just thought they were a darned good item to have on hand. The stickers are removable so you can decorate your cabin again and again. Uh...what I meant, of course, is that your CHILD can decorate his/her cabin again and again. Because I would never play with a kid's toy. Ever. If you'll excuse me, I need to go move Pa near the door in case coyotes are approaching.

Yarn dolls. We carry them. We love them. These are a longtime popular item here at the Village, and historical interpreter Marilyn handmakes each one with care.

Again...not produced on site...but aren't these patches COOL? Good for Scouts, Campfire kids, Y-Guides, or anyone else who wants to show their Village spirit. We saw Taffy the cat sporting one recently.

Rag dolls...so simple...so elegant...so "Little House." Handmade on site by historical interpreter Teresa.

The ever popular corn husk dolls! We have a variety of styles, each carefully handmade on site by historical interpreter Linda. We think this mother and child doll is beautiful.

These just knock our socks off. Who knew historical interpreter Fred was such a great artist! These are one-of-a-kind pencil sketches of Village structures, created here on site. What else can we say...the cabins like to pose!

We feature scarves handmade by historical interpreters Debi and Marilyn. We couldn't help but show you this precious child's scarf/hat combo that Debi finished recently, though. Warm...fashionable...made by a Village person...for YOU.

We also feature items made by Village blacksmiths Michael, Steven, and Jeanie...as well as fine woodworked items from Steven and David (items available vary according to materials and time to complete). And Terry, Fred, and Teresa keep us well-stocked with fresh-ground cornmeal!

New items are produced daily...so come check out all their hard work!