Visitors would have a better idea of the breath and scope of this fascinating 78-acre living history park if it was called “Roots” of America’s Frontier Culture.  Farmsteads have been rebuilt here in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley with buildings transported from settler’s homelands in Germany, Northern Ireland and England.  A fourth farmstead illustrates how these cultures met and merged by the 19th century.

These are not reconstructions or recreations, but actual farms with their original cluster of house and farm buildings and to the extent possible appropriate elements of the landscape.  Living history brings to life the culture and lifestyle settlers brought to America when they immigrated in the 18th century.  Authentically clad interpreters go about their farm work as they would have done in the old country.

After an informative 15-minute video explaining the background of the Museum of American Frontier Culture which opened in 1988, you’ll follow a sandy country lane to the 1688 half-timbered German farmhouse transported from Hordt in the Rhineland-Palatinate.  In addition to the main house, there is a barn with a wagon-shed addition and a tobacco barn.  The house and barn are both built in the fachwerk style, with a timber frame filled-in with wattle and daub panels.  These panels are formed by weaving strips of wood, then covering the strips with a mix of clay, sand, lime and straw.  An element of the German barn that was incorporated into the design of frontier farms was the central entry double door with its threshing bay flanked by animal pens often with pigs.  Germans introduced pork and smoked meats to the frontier diet as well as sauerkraut.  Furnishings in the front parlor, small bed chamber, kitchen and hall reflect the 1750s, the first half of the 18th century was the time of the heaviest German immigration to this part of Virginia.  Influences from other countries that made their way to western Germany can be seen, like the curtains of Egyptian cotton and the Roman hearth.  Garden plots beside the buildings are enclosed in the traditional wattle and wooden picket fences. 

The path to the past next leads visitors to the Scotch-Irish (Ulster) farm, which was originally built in the early 19th century near the village of Drumquin.  The house and outbuildings were presented by the Ulster-American Folk Park, whose director Eric Montgomery was one of the visionaries who help found this living history museum. Specialists from Northern Ireland assisted in the reconstruction and two Irish thatchers completed the roof using a pattern common in County Tyrone.  The farm has three buildings the two-room house with a barn addition, a small outbuilding in front of the house and a long four-room outbuilding at the end of the house.  They all have whitewashed sandstone walls.  Floors are made of blue clay and flagstone.  One part of the longer outbuilding was used as a turf shed to store the peat used in Ireland for fuel.  In the kitchen, which also served as the main living area, the parents’ bed was located in the “outshot” near the fireplace.  Notice the “creepy stools,” so called because they were set low to avoid the peat smoke. Those sitting on these low stools would gradually move them closer and closer to the warm stove.  The second room was used for spinning, weaving, churning and other household chores as well as providing additional sleeping quarters.  Visitors learn that colcannon is virtually the national dish in Northern Ireland---it’s mashed potatoes, scallions, milk, butter and kale.  Hedgerows and stone walls enclose this farmstead.  Bringing to life the work of the farmers who grew flax is complemented by the 18th century blacksmith forge, the first trade building at the museum.

Split-rail fences line the footpath that crosses a spring-fed creek delivering visitors to yet another country.  This farm reveals our English heritage.  Here you’ll find outbuildings from a West Sussex farm once situated on the outskirts of Petworth.  There is also a farmhouse from Worcestershire near the village of Hartlebury in the West Midlands.  The lifestyle of the 17th century yeoman farmer is captured at the English farmstead.  There are two 17th century barns, a mid-17th century house and a late-18th century cattle shed all built using the English timber-framed construction.  All of these were moved from the Garlands’ Sussex farm, but the main house was protected by English preservation laws and was not allowed to be moved out of England.  In its place is the Worcesterhire House, circa 1630, which was dissembled before the new preservation law became operational and so is likely the last historic dwelling that will be permitted to leave England.  The position of the Petworth farmhouse is marked by a stone foundation and partial framework.  The Worcestershire house is located in a separate area on the English exhibit site. Furnishings in the house are accurate reproduction pieces based on original 17th century probate inventories from this house and neighboring yeoman-class houses.  As part of the museum’s foodways program authentic English dishes are prepared in the kitchen using brass cookware. There is a wooden trestle table where a great deal of the food preparation was done. The carved wooden table in the hall was where the family ate their meals. Notice the pond near the wagon shed, this was a frequent placement so that the wagons could be driven into the water to keep the wheels swollen and tight.  The design of the English cattle shed and the later American smoke house both utilized a wooden frame construction with a hip-roof.

The Appalachian farm from Botetourt County southwest of Staunton reveals the synthesis of these Europeans traditions brought by the early settlers.  John Barger settled in Virginia in 1832 and built his farmhouse soon after.  He eventually built two barns and enlarged his house---all of these as well as additional outbuildings are part of the American farm.  The oldest buildings use the European style log construction while later additions are more varied, like the stone masonry of the spring house and the wood framing for the square frame smokehouse.  A variety of fencing is also seen on this farm: board fencing, picket fencing and split-rail fences.  Meal preparation, field work and household chores all remind visitors of a vanished era. 

The Museum of American Frontier Culture is open daily 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.  Hours from December through mid-March are 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M.  It is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.   Be sure to wear walking shoes and remember you will be outside a good portion of the time so dress appropriately.  Many special programs are conducted by museum staff, some are held in the Octagonal Barn Activities Center.  This 1915 barn is one of only two octagonal barns in the state.  Before leaving be sure to stop at the Museum Store where they have a wide selection of handcrafted items.  For a schedule of special events call (540) 332-7850.  The highly popular Holiday Lantern Tours in December require advance reservations.

Directions: From I-81 take Exit 222, Route 250 west, just off the interstate you will see the entrance to the Museum of American Frontier Culture on your left.  If you come in on I-64, head north on I-81 for one exit.