Brush Square Museums

How did 19th Century pioneer children play?  Let's try building a homemade toy and then take a look at other popular toys at the time.

Frontier Toys-Build Your Own Acrobat!

Homemade butter is old fashioned, but it isn't hard to make. Learn how the Texas pioneers did it!

Making Butter the Pioneer Way

Just like any other job, settlers on the Texas frontier had specialized tools for the work they needed to accomplish. They needed to make many of the items needed for survival such as food, clothing, and shelter. They sometimes took supplies and animals with them on their long journeys to new homes in Texas. But many times, they needed to gather supplies from new and often unfamiliar surroundings by hunting animals, gathering wild plants, finding water sources, and planting crops. Many women were in charge of helping their families find or make all of the items they needed to survive. Even children were expected to help prepare food, sew clothing, tend animals, and provide care for other younger children in the family. Let's analyze these artifacts and find out what kind of tools they are!

Tools of the Trade

Often, early Texas settlers are portrayed as rugged cowboys with larger than life hats and mustaches. However, moving to new lands and setting up homesteads and ranches required hard work from everyone in the family, including the children! The Frontier Fabricators Trunk explores the often overlooked roles of women and children on the Texas frontier through examination of household tools, clothing, and even the toys that were fabricated to entertain children on the
frontier. Just as today, play was an important part of life for children in early Texas. Everyone contributed to the success of the family as they embarked on their journey to create a new life on the
Texas Frontier.

Frontier Fabricators-Central Texas Women and Children in the 1800s

educator materials