Welcome to the Pioneer Museum of Alabama 

As Alabama's premier cultural steward of pioneer heritage, we appreciate your interest in 19th century folklife and historic arts. Our dedicated community of supporters hope you'll come and experience "cabin culture" for yourself: 

FEED THE CHICKENS and check the henhouse for fresh eggs....Visit our Demonstration Cabin and help fry up some cornbread or turn clabbered buttermilk into delicious, FRESH CHURNED BUTTER! Grab a few pages from the farmer's almanac and head out to the old wooden outhouse... Raw cotton becomes SPUN WHITE GOLD when given to the weavers, spinners and quilters. Pull up a chair and chat with dear Mr. Poole about his beloved Belgium logging horses...Stroll the nature trails and identify native flora and woodland fauna. Hurry to the Bradleyton Train Depot platform and CATCH THE #14 TRAIN to adventure!

Currently on Exhibit

The Pioneer Museum of Alabama interprets prehistoric Alabama as well as 18th and 19th century rural life.  Over twenty-two historic structures and eighteen thousand artifacts illustrate this rich, rustic heritage. Four thematic exhibition halls within our Main Gallery display historic farm equipment, textile arts such as quilting and weaving, material culture of pioneer Alabama, the archaeology of Southeastern Native Americans, militaria including Civil War and WWI, and Victorian Era Troy. 

About Us

In 1971, Curren and Margaret Farmer founded the Pike Pioneer Museum with the mission "that others might learn from the past." Over four decades later, the Museum has prospered from a lone logcabin to a dynamic living history farmstead and unique blend of historic structures on forty splendidly verdant acres of heirloom landscaped grounds. A dozen macro-artifacts grace the trails including an 1800s steam locomotive, copper turpentine still, sugar cane processing mill, horse-drawn jail, and NASA moon tree. A rustic barnyard and gristmill sit adjacent to the chicken coop and outhouse. A one-room school house welcomes students of all ages. The covered bridge and 19th century church host many newly married couples while four primitive logcabins illustrate hands on history through interactive folklife demonstrations. 

As our collection evolved, so did our scope of interpretation. Historic structures were offered to us from almost every part of the state. And soon our name echoed our growth. We realized that our history was actually a common thread in a much larger quilt of tradition, one not limited to just Pike County. Thus, we became the Pioneer Museum of Alabama.  

Today, we share extraordinary stories of ordinary people...the settlers, farmers, and indigenous people that shaped the land across Alabama through hardihood, faith, necessity and ironed will.  More