Dripping Springs is home to many interesting activities for families, adults, and groups. One site of historical significance is the Dr. Pound Historical Farmstead Museum. A sign off Highway 290 will point the way to 570 Founders Park Road and a real glimpse into the past. The Pound House is the oldest existing building in Dripping Springs. It’s on the National Register of Historic Places, and it became a Texas State Historical Landmark in 1965. A museum since 2003, the hours of operation are Wednesday through Sunday from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. School and group tours are by appointment only. Admission is $5 per person, and those under 18 are free.
Things to Do
Peek Into the Past at the Dr. Pound Historical Farmstead
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Facebook/Dr. Pound Historical Farmstead
Joseph M. Pound first came to Texas from Kentucky in 1847 to fight in the war against Mexico. He returned home to pursue his medical education, then came back to Texas with his wife, Sarah, in the early 1850s. The Pound family included nine children, seven of whom lived to adulthood. Four generations of family occupied the farmstead over a period of 130 years, until 1983. The home was never modernized, except for electricity in 1947, and the last living descendant to occupy the home in the 1980s still used an outhouse and outdoor bathing facilities.
Originally built as two log pens (cabins) with a center “dog trot” breezeway, the Pound farmstead has a meticulously restored barn, smokehouse, windmill, and garden area from the period when Dr. Pound lived here. Antique rose cuttings brought by Sarah from Mississippi to her new home still thrive, and 90% of the museum’s collection belonged to the family members. The Great Great-Granddaughter of Joseph & Sarah Pound, Wanda Mauldin, works as a docent there.
Facebook/Dr. Pound Historical Farmstead
Discover the annual Pioneer Day each fall, featuring craft and skill demonstrations, historic educational opportunities, Native American dancing, Model-T’s, and Civil War re-enactors. Delicious food, live bluegrass music, take-home crafts for the kids, horse-drawn wagon rides, and shopping with local artisans are also part of the fun. The rest of the year hosts workshops, a kid’s summer program, movie nights, and an old-fashioned Christmas. Plan an authentic Texas Hill Country experience sure to please kids and history buffs alike!
