Pioneer Park

We went to Pioneer Park yesterday to check it out.  Pioneer Park is located in Zolfo Springs and is across the street from Peace River TT.  It is a county park that not only has the historical museum and village but also has a campground, picnic area, the Peace River on the the north side of the park, an 8.5 acre lake for fishing and a wild life refuge.  The Cracker Trail Museum is loaded with artifacts donated by the locals from their families.  The buildings in the Pioneer Village located outside the museum were also donated locally.  A portion of the Hart home that was lived in from 1879 to 1921 is one of the prominent buildings at the park.  WH Hart and his wife raised six kids in the house.  WH Hart was the secretary at the Shady Grove Baptist Church from 1897 to 1923.  Next to the Hart house is a Smokehouse that was used back in the pioneer days to preserve meat.  Also next to the house is an outhouse.  It was donated by the Roger's family.  Now for a little potty talk, did you know that the symbols on the privay door meant something?  The crescent moon was a symbol for womanhood in Colonial days and on the frontier.  The men's  privay door usually had a star or sunburst on the door.  Male outhouses did not last as long as the females because they were not maintained and usually fell apart.  So then everyone would use the female ones.  Through the years the male symbols were forgetten and the crescent moon became the only symbol on the door.  The Blacksmith shop was originally built in 1897.  There is a post office built in 1886 as a home was later moved to the park to be used as a post office.  There was a 1914 wood burning Baldwin Locomotive Engine donated to the park in 1967.  The area where the locomotive was placed in the area where one of the last battles fought with the Seminole Nation on June 16, 1856.  The Indians were defeated by the soldiers from Ft. Meade.  The locomotive is an impressive sight.  The construction of the locomotive is quite amazing.  The last time the that locomotive was in use was 1957.  Pioneer Park  hosts a big festival every year featuring engines and tractors.  This year is will be Feb 28 through March 4 so we will miss it.  When Hurricane Charlie came through the area it did damage some of the historical buildings but all have been repaired.  If you are in the area, a stop at the park would be a nice relaxing time to have a picnic lunch and look at some history of the area.
Today, we don't have any plans.  It is of course NFL Football playoffs.  I will be rooting for the 49ers and the Ravens!  I just want to see a Superbowl where the two head coaches are brothers going for the win!
Tomorrow we leave Wauchula and Peace River and head south to Ft Myers.