In 1854, John Anderson Penn settled in the rugged, cedar-covered hills of southwest Dallas County, an area known as the Cedar Mountains. Today, remnants of the original Penn Farm survive intact in Cedar Hill State Park.
The Penn family owned this farm for over a century. It is representative of the small, middle-class farmsteads that once occupied this part of Dallas County. Farmers such as Penn utilized the rich natural resources of the land to build farms and provide shelter for their families. The Penn family grazed cattle and horses on the native prairie grasses for over a hundred years. Over time, most of the tallgrass prairie in Dallas County vanished - plowed under and replaced with crops of wheat or cotton. Perhaps because of the rocky surface and the hilly terrain of the “cedar mountains,” prairie remnants at Penn Farm survived.
Penn Farm Agricultural History Center pays tribute to the disappearing Texas family farm. It offers a glimpse into rural life, when farm machinery took the place of the horse and mule almost a century ago. The center is open daily for self-guided tours. It features reconstructed and historic buildings from the mid-1800s through the mid-1900s. Park permit is on file.
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