Pioneer Museum in Fredericksburg, Texas. Harmon Li for Lonely Planet.

Harmon Li for Lonely Planet

Pioneer Museum


For an exhaustive insight into what life was like for Fredericksburg’s first settlers, take a fascinating self-guided stroll through this grassy downtown precinct. Visitors are surprisingly free to inspect the artifacts displayed in its 10 restored historic buildings, ranging from log cabins and sturdy stone homes to barns and a blacksmith’s forge. Costumed docents demonstrate skills such as rope-making, while displays tell the stories of local notables.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Pioneer Public Library

0.31 MILES

Check out the enormous tapestry on the 2nd floor of the beautiful library building. About 8ft by 16ft, the mixed-media tapestry highlights many of…

2. Vereins Kirche

0.32 MILES

The city's Vereins Kirche was the original town church, meeting hall and school. The tiny building anchoring the town square – the Marktplatz – contains…

3. National Museum of the Pacific War

0.71 MILES

The only US museum devoted exclusively to the Pacific War, in which over 100,000 American military personnel lost their lives, spreads through three sites…

4. Wildseed Farms

7.62 MILES

To admire vast cultivated fields of color – especially between March and April, when wildflowers like orange Indian paintbrushes, deep-purple wine-cups…

5. Becker Vineyards

11.23 MILES

Located 10 miles east of Fredericksburg, just off US 290, this is one of the state's most decorated wine producers. Its vineyard has 36 acres of vines and…

6. LBJ Ranch

15.33 MILES

Run by the National Park Service, the beautiful LBJ Ranch preserves the sites where Lyndon B Johnson was born, lived and died. Explored on a 7-mile…

7. Enchanted Rock State Natural Area

15.69 MILES

A pink granite dome rising 425ft above the grasslands north of Fredericksburg, Enchanted Rock cuts a striking but mild-mannered profile. At first glance,…

8. Kerr Arts & Cultural Center

22.4 MILES

Step inside to catch the pulse of the Hill Country art scene. Located in the old post office, it frequently changes exhibits, which could include anything…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "usa/texas/fredericksburg/attractions/pioneer-museum/a/poi-sig/1353273/1315490",
      "position": "superzone"
    }