Farm Heritage Day

Farm Heritage Day is the Farm’s headline event each year.  It is held on the Sunday prior to the last Friday in September.  At that time, the Farm is opened to the public for an afternoon of celebrating the living history of farm life and skills of late 19th & 20th century family farms.  The event is completely free and open to the public.  Most attendees are young families with school-age children, but many older adults have attended, recalling activities from their youth or memories of stories told by their parents.

Visitors may see or participate in common scenes of farm life, such as clothes washing, butter churning, corn shelling and grinding, fodder cutting, making corn husk dolls, pecan shelling, and learning how to rope a cow, just to name a few.  Vendors who deal in farm-related products are also present and offer their products for sale.  Examples are alpaca goods, honey and soap.  A horse or tractor drawn hayride is always a popular attraction.  And of course, there are plenty of farm animals to see as the property is a working farm.  There are also educational stations set up by organizations dealing with land and water conservation, farming, or the preservation of natural flora and fauna.  The kids can also try their hand at a manual sewing machine.

Inside the 1913 restored farmhouse, visitors have the opportunity to see furniture and clothing of the period and a special room that exhibits and showcases a particular aspect of farm life during the period.  These have included a cotton buyer’s office, a typical children’s room with period toys, a display showing the introduction and history of the postal Rural Free Delivery (RFD) service, healthy farm food and home remedies, early 20th century farm modernization, and cotton farming.  

 

 

FARM HERITAGE DAY

Sunday, September 21, 2025 – “Farm Heritage Day”, 2:00-5:00 PM

  • This year’s educational theme was Early Rural Farm Life focusing on schools, churches, and farmer organizations that provided the foundations of small rural communities.

 

Following are a few highlights from past Farm Heritage Days.

September 22, 2024 – “Farm Heritage Day”, 2:00-5:00 PM

  • FREE admission, activities, and snacks
  • Outdoor games, hayrides, farm vendors, farm animals, and farm living history activities focusing on Cotton Farming

 

September 24, 2023 – “Farm Heritage Day”, 2:00-5:00 PM

  • FREE admission, activities, and snacks
  • Outdoor games, hayrides, farm vendors, farm animals, and farm living history activities focusing on Early 20th century Farm Modernization
  • The Invitation
  • Photos of Farm Heritage Day

 

September 25, 2022 – “Farm Heritage Day”

  • FREE admission, activities, and snacks
  • Outdoor games, hayrides, farm vendors, farm animals, and farm living history activities focusing on Healthy Habits on the Farm
  • The Invitation
  • Photos of Farm Heritage Day

 

September 29, 2019 – “Farm Heritage Day”

  • FREE admission, activities, and snacks
  • Outdoor games, hayrides, farm vendors, farm animals, and farm living history activities focusing on the importance of the introduction of Rural Free Delivery (RFD) of U.S. mail in rural areas
  • The Invitation
  • Photos of Farm Heritage Day

 

September 30, 2018 – “Farm Fun Day”

An event co-hosted with the Indian Trail Chapter of the Master Naturalists, Ellis County Museum, Inc., & Waxahachie Chautauqua Assembly focusing on the role of Cotton Farming in shaping the Ellis County and regional economy

 

 

 

 

October 1, 2017 – Rural Heritage Day

An event to introduce the Ellis County Rural Heritage Farm