Nelson Pioneer Farm Celebrates 53 Years Of Fall Festival

The 53rd Annual Nelson Pioneer Farm Fall festival took visitors back in time.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – The plume of smoke could be seen from miles away, as the steam engine began to chug to life on the grounds of Nelson Pioneer Farm.

The threshing is a popular spectator attraction at the yearly festival.

The annual Fall Festival is a celebration of the heritage of Mahaska County, and the people that worked hard, and used their skill to build our community.

Margaret Spiegel is the Curator/Administrator of the farm and Mahaska County Historical Society.

This was her first year to celebrate the festival, and she was pleased to see the number of people that attended. “It’s a little warm, I was hoping for 75 degrees instead of 88, but I’d rather have a warm sunny day than rain.”

Something that is fairly new for the festival includes the sawmill demonstrations, which was fully in place this year.

Those new things mix well with the traditional, like a spelling bee at the old school. Music fills the air, and artisans demonstrate skills from a day when hand-made was the norm.

The Fall Festival is a sign that the season is coming to an end at the Nelson Pioneer Farm, when the farm closes for the season on October 7th.

Spiegel says that it has been shaping up to be a good year for attendance at the Farm. Spiegel believes that a larger presence on social media and other advertising methods “has helped a lot. People are starting to hear about us. So overall, I’ve been really pleased.”