20 Apr 2015 Preserving history at Pioneer Village
Story and photos
by Erica Goodwin
Walking through the gates of Pioneer Village in Searcy is a breath of fresh air. The 19th Century settlement takes visitors on a journey back in time and spring finds the Village lush and green with heirloom plants and flowers in full bloom.
Originally known as Sulphur Springs, Searcy was officially designated as a city in 1837. Today, the White County Historical Society helps preserve the area’s history through maintaining the Village with support from the White County Master Gardeners.
In 2002, the society moved Pioneer Village from the White County Fairgrounds to its current location at 1200 Higginson St. When Vince Henderson joined the Master Gardeners group nearly 14 years ago, he visited the new site to find out how he could volunteer his service.
“The grounds were completely overgrown,” Vince said. “It was an old trailer park with items scattered everywhere and grass growing around them. I knew if we were going to start the project, it would be best to start from the beginning, so we cleared the land and started from the ground up.”
Vince soon became the chairman for the Pioneer Village project. Over the past 13 years, he and a team of 13 fellow Master Gardeners have transformed the grounds into a delightfully welcoming outdoor space to help create a historical experience for all visitors.
“We add new elements each year,” Vince says. “This spring and summer, we are planning to add a vegetable garden, as well as pumpkins and gourds, and we will continue to grow an herb garden. Last year, we grew cotton, sorghum and strawberries. It was always fun to see the children so fascinated by the cotton because they don’t see it being grown here like it was years ago.”
Logs and stones will replace landscaping timbers to give the flowerbeds a more authentic look, according to Vince. The materials will complement the buildings in the Village, which includes a log house, school, trapper cabin, barn, outhouse and sawmill building.
“We use as many heirloom plants as we can,” Vince says. “Some of our irises date back to the 1800s. We also have peonies that were brought to our area in 1904. There is a fig tree in the Village, and we plant concord grapevines, because that’s what people used to plant for making jelly.”
Every Tuesday from late March through early October, the Master Gardeners meet to work on various projects throughout the Village.
“The best part is working with the 13 other individuals that all enjoy gardening and the work we do at the Village,” Vince said. “After we finish the work scheduled out for the day, we have people who bring snacks, so we have the opportunity to sit and visit at the end of the day.”
In addition to Pioneer Village, the White County Master Gardeners also maintain the grounds at the Black House of the Searcy Art’s Council and Spring Park in Searcy, as well as Daniel Park in Beebe.
Pioneer Village will open its gates to the public during the annual Spring Open House from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 2, and from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, May 3. Personal tours are available June through October when the Village is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Saturday.
Learn more by searching for Pioneer Village Searcy AR on Facebook. The Village is open daily for self-guided tours while the buildings remain locked. Schedule guided tours or school field trips by calling 501.580.6633.
