Homestead Heritage Village

It's been quite a summer! Between moving Mom here and taking care of Dan during his recuperation after having both knees replaced, summer has sort of passed me by. That's okay, though, since I was more than happy to be there for both of them. But now it's FALL, my very favorite time of year, and I have been feeling a great need to get out with my camera to somewhere beautiful.

I had heard about Homestead Heritage Village, just north of Waco, some time ago, and was again reminded of it this week, by a friend who had been there recently. So I set out late this morning to explore it. (Dan's new knee wasn't quite up to an activity like this yet.) What a wonderful place! I'll be going back as often as I can. It's open to the public Monday through Saturday, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. It has a working gristmill with a store that sells its flours; a forge, where blacksmiths work; a pottery workshop; a fiber crafts building, for carding wool, combing cotton, beating flax, spinning, weaving, and knitting; a woodworking shop; a gift shop; and a cafe/bakery. They offer classes to the public in the various crafts. 

The weekend after Thanksgiving they hold a big craft fair with demonstrations, live bluegrass and gospel music, food, and hands-on activities - for adults and children. 

THE FORGE

THE GRISTMILL

This waterwheel powers the mill

The mill store, where they sell flours and baking mixes, as well as homemade jams and jellies.

THE CAFE/BAKERY

I had lunch here, and it was very good. I was sorely tempted to have a dessert, as they looked absolutely wonderful - but I didn't.

THE FIBER CRAFTS

A class, framed by one of the large looms

This woven piece, still attached to a loom, was in process.

Some completed woven scarves

THE POTTERY BUILDING

A class was going on while I was there, and a man was working on this piece. He used a grape leaf to make the impression.

THE WOOD SHOP

This very tall chest was made in the wood shop and is now displayed in the gift shop. 

This is the top of the chest shown above. You can only see the top from the upper story of the shop, but even this "unseen" portion was beautifully crafted.

THE GIFT SHOP

These are scented soaps. They slice bars from the long slabs.

 THE WINDMILL

ANIMALS

On fair days, they offer horse-drawn hay wagon rides, but on non-fair days, they only have a few animals in a petting zoo area, such as this llama, who seems to have a severe under bite ;-)

 Although the Thanksgiving Fair would be a lot of fun to attend, I really enjoyed going on a day like this. There were not many people there (except in the cafe/bakery), and it was so peaceful and quiet.