Review: Pioneer Settlement for the Creative Arts in Barberville, Florida

Edutainment for the Whole Family

Take a walk back in time and explore what 'old Florida' was like at the Pioneer Settlement for the Creative Arts located in Barberville, Florida. Each year The Settlement is host to over 60,000 visitors who come to have fun while being educated about the life and times of early Florida  Pioneers. According to it's website, "The Settlement was established as an educational institution whose general nature and objective will be to render constructive, educational, and cultural services to the community through collection, preservation, conservation and exposition of objects which are the cultural heritage of this community. Particular emphasis shall be directed to vital programs that enrich the lives of the youth of this community. To achieve this purpose, a Settlement has been created for the benefit of the public to house and maintain collections, exhibits, a reference library, and facilities for research and teaching."

The Settlement has been relocating historical buildings to the site since 1982, some of which include the Pierson, Florida Railroad depot, a turpentine still, and a bridge keeper's house, thus creating it's own pioneer village whose demand for more space continues as more buildings are donated to The Settlement. The village is also home to a Timucuan Native American village that is in the process of being rebuilt due to a few major storms that hit the area.

Within some of the buildings The Settlement holds classes for young and old alike. For the youngsters, The Settlements hosts a summer folk art camp with a few classes to choose from which include: Walk on the wild side- exploring nature in Florida, Down and dirty art- fun with art mediums, Cracker days- life in old Florida and Native American lore- The cultures of the South-East tribes. The adult classes are offered throughout the year and include weaving, blacksmithing, mosaics, rug hooking, cooking and more.