Wimberley's Pioneer Town

A century ago, the Texas Hill Country was a place where entertainment came in the form of cowboy songs, Saturday night meant a stop at the bath house to wash off the dust of the trail, and fast transportation was a ride on the railroad.

In Wimberley, that Wild West spirit lives on -- at least at Pioneer Town, that is. This Western village, complete with shootouts, a log fort, and the town jail, transports guests back to the days of the 1880s.

Pioneer Town is located on the grounds of the 7A Ranch Resort, a complex of 30 cabins and three 10-room lodges. It's a resort that is especially popular with families, reunions, and even corporate meeting goers.
The surrounding resort insulates Pioneer Town from the 20th century and makes visitors feel like time travelers. Leave the highway for roads lined with hitching posts and return to the early days of this region.

Pioneer Town began as the dream of Raymond L. Czichos, Sr. He started with a few cabins and, after traveling to theme parks in California, brought the idea for a Western village back home to Wimberley. In the years since, the town has been used as a backdrop for commercials and films, but its main purpose is to bring family fun to the Hill Country.

For the best overview of Pioneer Town, hop aboard the Pioneer and Pacific Railroad. This narrow gauge railway winds along one mile of the Wimberley Valley. For a closer look at the countryside, you can also arrange for a trail ride and, from the saddle, experience the area like a true pioneer.

At Pioneer Town, shops and storefronts bring back the spirit of the Wild West. Stop by the free General Store Museum for a look at the items used by early settlers, from shot loaders to bath tubs. There's also an antiques shop, an old-fashioned print shop that will imprint a wanted poster with your name, and, of course, the town jail. These old-fashioned buildings are located on streets that are lined with hitching posts, so it looks like the residents have just ridden out of town.

Pioneer Town is open only on weekends until the summer months, when the village really swings into action. On busy weekends, blacksmiths, weavers, and potters often give demonstrations. The Opera House hosts the Melodrama and Cowboy Show, and, at the nearby wagon camp, there's the Dr. U. Skinem Medicine Show for a few laughs.

The most unusual structure at Pioneer Town is the Bottle House, designed after similar buildings that were known to exist in the Old West. A century ago, glass houses were made from beer and champagne bottles from the local saloon. Pioneer Town's version uses soft drink bottles instead, over 9,500 in all. Many bottles are emerald green, so the Bottle House is a spectacular sight when illuminated at night. Today the Glass Institute of America calls this structure the only soda water bottle house in the nation.
It's appropriate that Wimberley is the home of Pioneer Town because this community has a rich Western heritage itself.

Wimberley's history goes back to the 1850s when a resourceful Texas Revolution veteran named William Winters opened a mill here. As was tradition at the time, he named the new community Winters' Mill. When Winters died, John Cade bought the mill, and the town became Cade's Mill. Finally in 1870, a wealthy Llano man named Pleasant Wimberley rode into town. Tired of Indian raids on his horses in Llano, he moved in, bought the mill, and changed the town's name one last time.

For More Information: visit http://www.pioneertowntexas.com

Return to Wimberley Travel Guide