Pioneer Farmstead offers insight to unique owner, time

By MONETTE TAYLOR | South Central Texas Edition

The Pound home was constructed in 1854, when Indians were still roaming the area around Drippin. Now the home, along with some additions that have been made over the years, is the center of the Dr. Pound Pioneer Farmstead. -- Staff photo by Taylor

Jan. 6, 2005 - Looking out a window in the master bedroom of the Dr. Pound Pioneer Farmstead in Dripping Springs, you can almost imagine seeing a tribe of Indians, slipping through the trees by the 300-year-old oak tree in the yard.

According to Charles Haydon, vice president of the Friends of the Pound House Foundation, a daughter of Dr. Joseph M. Pound and his wife Sarah, related seeing just that, many years ago, when Indians roamed the area around Dripping Springs ... "Drippin'," as the locals call the little town.

Dr. Pound was educated in Kentucky, but relocated to Texas and built the original part of the home in 1854. He and Sarah were one of the three, original families to settle in the "wilderness," as it was then called.

As a medical doctor, he was quite well known in the area, and his family increased to nine children ... mostly, girls ... over the years. Coming from the Deep South, the Pounds brought several slaves with them to Texas to help settle the frontier.

The original house did not have a kitchen, but meals were prepared at the big, white stone fireplace in the large dining room. Most unique to the home is the cistern that is located half-way inside the dining room, complete with steps. Dr. Pound had it built this way so that his wife and others wouldn't have to go outside to draw water; they just had to open the window and remain inside the home.

Dr. Joseph Pound was well-respected, and had served as a surgeon in the Confederate Army, according to the certificate preserved by the family. -- Staff photo by Taylor

As the family grew, rooms were added to the log cabin, as well as a barn, smokehouse and underground hot house.

Today, the homestead is a museum, filled with original furniture that was owned by various members of the Pound family. The home was occupied from 1854 until 1983 by some family member, and was then donated by the family to be a historical museum in the area, dedicated to Dr. Pound and Sarah.

Original photos hang on the walls, as well as a cabinet filled with medical bottles that still show Dr. Pound's name on them. There is even a yellowed certificate which verifies that Dr. Pound served as a surgeon in the Confederate Army.

Legend has it that one night, Dr. Pound was called away on a medical case and his only mode of transportation was his horse. During the dark night, while he was gone, most of the horses in the area were stolen by Indians and tied up near the Pound home. His (Pound) horses were the only ones not taken, said Haydon. Even the Indians respected the doctor.

The original 700-acre farm was "the social and cultural center" of Dripping Springs, and the first Methodist church services were held there, as well as serving as a classroom for area children. It was even used as a stagecoach stop and post office, according to Haydon.

Today, the majority of the property has been sold, except for the five acres around the museum.

Until the Pound House was donated as a museum, there was no indoor plumbing, nor electricity. The small kitchen was added in the 1900s, but there was no running water; only the water drawn from the cistern.

Now, the home is a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark and is included in the National Register of Historical Places. It is available for private parties/events and offers several fund-raisers each year.

Last May, the first annual Legends of Texas Swing Music Festival was held at the Alamo Movie Set in Dripping Springs and benefited the Dr. Pound Historic Farmstead. A second festival is being planned at Stone Mountain Event Center in Dripping Springs for May 14 and will feature nationally-recognized musicians, once again.

(The Dr. Pound Pioneer Farmstead is located through Founder's Park on RR12, one-third mile north of U.S. Highway 290. For more information, call 512-894-4410 or 512-858-4547.)