2 January – Fredericksburg

We headed into town in the morning to visit the Pioneer Museum. It is a collection of early buildings dating from the 1840s when Fredericksburg was first settled. There is an interesting video about the settlers to watch first – it described how thousands of German people, disenchanted with life in Europe, answered advertisements to travel to Texas to settle. They paid for transportation by ship and then by wagon, a land grant, tools and supplies for the first year on their farms and ongoing lines of credit with merchants. When they arrived in Texas, due to a series of gross miscalculations about what was required to provide food, shelter and transport for so many people, there was nothing there and they were abandoned on shore with only their luggage. Eventually a piece of suitable land was found and 120 people set out to become the first settlers in Fredericksburg.

The museum includes a school house, a “Sunday House” (a small one room house used commonly by the locals when they were in town for church or events), barns, several larger homes, a log cabin and a fire station. Really interesting to walk around.

 Sunday House

 Inside the Sunday House

 The Schoolhouse

 Log Cabin

 Inside the Log Cabin

 The Barn

 The Store and Homestead

Following the Pioneer Museum we went for lunch at Vaudeville Bistro – a bit of a wait for a table, but a lovely relaxed meal.

We then spent the rest of the afternoon at the National Museum of the Pacific War. Encompassing several buildings and a full city block, the museum covered the war and also the life and times of Admiral Nimitz (born in Fredericksburg). Lots of exhibits, but not much in the way of artifacts.