 Chef Natalie Moore-Clark and her father at the 2023 A Day of Remembrance program at Levi Jordan Plantation.
The staff who manage the Texas Historical Commission’s 38 state historic sites work hard to ensure that our visitors can experience an informative, authentic, and engaging version of Texas history. But with the help of culinary programs that spotlight cultural foodways, site educators are providing new (and delicious) ways of accessing the stories of Texans' past.
Assistant Site Manager Kennedy Wallace gives us a behind-the-scenes look at their approach to foodways programming at two plantations in Brazoria County. As a bonus, she also provided a tasty barbecue sauce recipe to try at home!
 This photograph is part of the collection entitled: Dallas Farmers Market - Henry Forschmidt Collection 1938-1986 via The Portal to Texas History
Whether you need fresh peaches for your grandmother’s cobbler recipe, or heirloom tomatoes for your salsa, chances are you can find what you need at a local farmers' market.
Farmers' markets have deep roots in our history…In the first decades of this century, most cities with at least 30,000 people sponsored municipal markets. But better roads and refrigeration soon ushered in supermarkets and wholesalers, leaving many small farms, and markets, out of the food cycle. (Smithsonian Magazine, 1999)
Fortunately, farmers' markets have made a comeback, and you can usually find one almost anywhere, but here are a handful that have stood the test of time:
To find a farmers' market near you, check out the list of GO TEXAN certified Farmers' Markets provided by our friends at the Texas Department of Agriculture.
Nestled in East Texas, less than 40 miles from the Louisiana border, you'll find a remnant of Texas' post-Emancipation past, preserved and celebrated every year with a festival dedicated to a humble legume.
Every June, the former freedmen's community of Shankleville hosts the Texas Purple Hull Pea Festival, where attendees can experience live music, historic walking tours, Southern cuisine, and more, all starring the Purple Hull Pea. But this event is not just a celebration of a local crop; it's a testament to the resilience and heritage of a community that has overcome adversity and thrived against all odds.
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