bakersville pioneer village

I got about 50 types of tomatoes from here! They all produced, awesome plants and just a wonderful resource! We're so lucky to have this resource out here! We stop here now and then to visit the donation only vegan restaurant. They have some of the best chefs in the county here!

I saw an advertisement for this place and made a 1 1/2 hour journey there today to check it out. It really is out in the middle of nowhere, several miles down a narrow winding county road. There was some kind of festival going on today. I arrived about noon. Quite a number of people were already there, and more kept arriving. There is sort of a "courtyard garden" down the middle, with a row of pioneer-style buildings on each side and at the ends. The garden is large and well laid-out. It was beautiful, in full bloom with different kinds of flowers and greenery. The village is surrounded by farm land.The heritage seed store has about 1,300 different varieties of heirloom vegetable and flower seeds for sale. There was a special going on today, with seeds (other than bulk packets) going for $1.00 per pack, or so said the signs posted every few feet on the shelves. Apparently that special price was only good on certain varieties. Almost everyone upon reaching the cash register, myself included, was informed that at least some of the seed packets we had selected were NOT on sale for the special $1.00 price. This resulted in confusion and a very lengthy delay in the check-out process. Credit cards are accepted at this store.After purchasing seeds and walking around, I decided to go across the street and into the restaurant for lunch. There is no menu. They prepare one meal each day, and that's what gets served up. It is vegetarian. Today as something called "vegan chicken", which I imagine was some kind of tofu but I'm not an expert on that and don't know for sure. It came with rice, a vegetable, and a salad all served together on the same plate. It was actually very tasty, and I enjoyed it. There is no charge for the meal, but they accept donations as you leave. Be sure to deposit something in the box for the food and serve you receive.I probably spent about 1 1/2 hours here, which seemed just about right. There was live bluegrass music and a few vendors peddling their wares also.Glad I went, and will probably go back again one day.

Loved the garden, seed store, and bakery! Depending on level of interest it only takes an hour or two to see it all.

This was my second visit to Bakersville and I still enjoyed myself. This time, I was able to eat in the Ozark Hotel (their "Chinese" restaurant) and had an indescribably delicious meal (vegan veggie wrap, stir fried eggplant, kale & tomatoes and couscous). If you are a foodie, I definitely recommend you come for lunch, which is served from 11:30 - 1:00pm. BTW, lunch consists of one meal offering and is served for donation only - no set price, no tipping. Here are some helpful tips before you go:* BRING WATER. There is really no place to get a drink (besides the restaurant), so bring a cooler of water in your car and carry a bottle around with you.* BRING SNACKS If anyone in your party isn't a fan of vegan food or if you're there during a time when the restaurant isn't serving, have a few granola bars on hand. There's no other place, other than the little bakery (if it's open) to get anything to eat.* BRING A HAT. If you come in the summer/early fall, it's sunny and the gardens are outdoors. You will get some sun if you're not careful. * BRING CASH. While the seed store does accept credit cards, if you eat at the restaurant, you'll want to leave a donation. They operate only on donations - no charge, no tipping. You'll likely not want to leave your credit card in the donation jar. * BRING YOUR CAMERA. Plenty of photo ops both inside the buildings and in the garden area. * READ THE SIGNS. They have a lovely handicapped parking area right next to the front entrance (during non-festival periods). It is well marked; however, there were several boneheads who went ahead and took those spots and it was painful to watch an elderly couple try to navigate a wheelchair from the regular parking lot (yes, we helped them out). * DON'T PICK THE FLOWERS. Some of those same boneheads also picked the heads off of a few flower blossoms and stuck them into their purses. They were surprised when they were rebuked for doing this. Duh! If you want a plant, buy the seeds! * COME DURING THE WEEK. If you don't like crowds, plan to come on a weekday and avoid the festivals like the plague. You'll have the place to yourself. :-)* HAVE A GOOD TIME. There is a LOT to see. Slow down and take a look inside all of the little stores inside the old fashioned buildings. Most everything is for sale but it's on the honor system. Take your treasures to the seed store to pay for them.

I've wanted to stop here for a couple of years since reading an article in the Springfield News-Leader about the heirloom seeds they grow here. The garden was pretty but looking a little "end-of-the-summer." We walked around and entered all the buildings that were open. The jail was pretty cool. We took pictures of ourselves behind bars. Walked into one building that smelled like baked bread and a pan of cinnamon rolls were sitting on the counter. We didn't buy any seeds but we did stop in the restaurant. When my husband saw it was eggplant cutlets for the lunch meal, we decided it was time to move on. Wish we would have went back for a cinnamon roll! A nice little trip. I'd like to come back in the spring when the garden is starting to grow and more activity is going on.

For 4 years I have been going to Bakersville Village/Baker Seed Co. in the spring for all of my seeds and have been well pleased and the enormous selection of seeds. After seeing some pictures of their flower garden on Facebook my wife and I decided to take a trip this summer to see their gardens. The flowers were awesome. This is a must go to place. And I might add that if you want to see a beautiful and well put together catalog, with great pictures, ask for a Baker Seed catalog.

Bakersville is a small, charming, pioneer village on the grounds of Baker Creek Seeds. Known for heirloom and GMO-free seeds, Baker Creek showcases old-fashioned gardening and crafts. On site is the seed store that also stocks quilting supplies, a bakery/seamstress shop where one can find period costumes for sale, cookware, and bakery items, an apothecary store that sells herbal teas and soaps, a mercantile that is more show than store, a working blacksmith, various coops of chickens, and building such as a jail, a barn that houses a cart and covered wagon, a running water wheel, the gardens, a stage for live music, and a community oven that on this day was dishing out beans and cornbread. Also on site is a vegetarian restaurant that serves one specialty dish per day. The restaurant runs on donations so everyone can eat. On the day we visited they were holding one of their monthly Heritage Festival Garden Shows, so there were other vendors set up on the grounds as well as live music all day. All is free to the public. Our family really enjoyed our morning at Bakersville, but we are also really interested in this kind of historical/educational attraction. If it is not your thing, it probably isn't worth much of a drive, but if you like gardening or homesteading then try to catch one of their festival weekends.

Baker Creek is an heirloom seed company that built a business, and an authentic but faux village, in the middle of nowhere about four miles north of Mansfield, home of Laura Ingalls Wilder's home. We went on the spur of the moment because our hotel suggested a visit. Each day, for donations only, they serve a vegetarian lunch using the produce of the 176-acre farm. No "locavore" restaurant in New York or California could match the freshness and flavor of this meal, with ingredients picked outside the windows off the farm. No booze, no menu, and no choices; you eat only what's served that day, as shown on a blackboard. Our vegetable stir fry, fresh salad with edible flowers, and shortcake drowning in heirloom strawberries would get a rave review in an urban restaurant. Service was perfect. Worth a trip, even if you aren't a gardener. If you are, this could be Mecca. Certain days are festivals; check their website.

We happened to see a billboard for Bakersville on our way to Laura Ingalls Wilder's home, so when we were finished with that we looked it up and decided to visit. Since it was November and obviously not high time for planting, we weren't sure they would be open, and my AT&T iPhone had a bit of a hard time getting us a signal over to it, but we found the place. :) What a neat old-style pioneer village! Plants and animals and stores and of course a lovely Bakers Creek seed store. It was practically empty when we visited, but a lady there said they do events in Spring/Summer time and it sounds awesome. If we're ever in the area again (especially at a better time of year), I would love to go back!

I went here for the first time for the Spring Planting Festival and really enjoyed seeing such a neat place. I enjoyed the food and music and was very impressed with the amount of seeds in the store. There were a lot of nice vendors and I will be back again next year. I even ran into a few friends. I do hope it is cooler next year though.

We are young, but avid gardeners, who have been purchasing seeds through Bakers Creek and loving the results. We decided to make the trip to the festival this year with another couple who love it as much as we do and we were not disappointed! The slightly long trip from Nebraska was totally worth it! The grounds were completely packed with plants and trees of all varieties. The prices were so good we couldn't resist bringing back a couple of berry bushes and fruit trees in the back of our already tightly packed car. The seed store was filled with all of their available seed varieties as well as other gardening products and needs and the staff were kind and helpful, even with the massive crowds of people everywhere. We also really enjoyed the bluegrass music. While this isn't something we would normally listen to, the groups were so good we still enjoyed them. The vast variety of venders were helpful and knowledgable and the atmosphere was great! We enjoyed the donation based restaurant as well as cinnamon rolls, baked beans and cornbread. I even bought some teas from one of their stores. We especially loved that they have keep the festival prices low enough that you can really enjoy yourself and get what you need without breaking the bank. We will definitely be back again!

I love going every year. Depending on the weather and where you're able to park also helps in how enjoyable it is. If chilly, bring a jacket, but it's better than when it's pretty hot. If warm or hot weather, be sure to wear a hat and sunglasses help as well. Drink plenty of water and rest in the shade somewhere if needed because this year I endes up getting heat exhaustion and it made me so sad since it was harder to enjoy the festival. I did get a free bottle of water from a food vendor called The Aviary when they found out i was overheated and had to get to air conditioning for awhile right after ordering my food from them and didn't get back to get my food and they got worried. Food was delicious though. Wish it was a little cheaper. I am disappointed that the seed store doesn't have sales on the seeds during the festival like they did the first 2 or 3 times i came a few years ago. I always hoped they would because getting packets for $1.00 was awesome! I could afford more of the heirlooms i wanted to grow. I got a lot of nice plants, soap, roving wool and seeds while there. So wish i hadn't overheated or it would have been better. Wasn't able to go back and get some other plants i wanted to get after all. Wore myself out! Usually i do fine and don't have heat issues like that. Made me exhausted and with a bad headache. Just be sure not to stay in the sun constantly, wear a hat, rest once in awhile and drink water.

I've bought seeds from Baker Creek for a number of years. This year, I finally planned a trip to coincide with the Spring Planting Festival. I was delighted to discover it's a mixture of exotic farmer's market, artist fair, and music festival. Every year, The two day festival offers a number of speakers and more than a hundred vendors. The speakers are all experts in their fields, and they have a wealth of knowledge to share. Vendors run the gamut, including plant growers, wood carvers, painters, weavers, musicians, other types of artists, solar and wind companies, health-related items, food, and more. You can find things here you won't find any place else. The pros who attend know to bring small wagons, to get garden plants, bushes and tree starts back to their vehicles. Next time I visit, I'll do the same. Where else can you find exotic native plants in gallon pots, pawpaw trees in 7 gallon tubs, and several dozen varieties (and that's probably as gross underestimate) of heirloom tomato plants? If you come, bring something to carry or roll your purchases around.Bakersville itself looks like a quaint little town on a hill. The big feature is their seed store, which I believe is a tremendous resource for heirloom gardeners. They literally have seeds from around the world of more edibles than you ever thought existed. I'm personally amazed at the sheer variety of tomatoes seeds they offer for every size, color and growing condition you might desire. If you garden and you're anywhere near, just go. Yes, you can order online, but but going in person is a special treat.Visiting during the planting festival, or perhaps even during one of the smaller weekend festivals throughout the year, makes it a little difficult to navigate through the buildings. I did eat in their donation-based vegan restaurant. The menu changes, and it's simple, good food to give you a meal during your visit. Stop in and try it. The giant cinnamon rolls in the flour mill are also good. Expect a wait at both. There are nice soap and tea options in the apothecary. Beyond that, explore and see what else you can find.The whole place has a good feel, and the countryside is gorgeous.Plan on walking some small hills, be prepared for gorgeous sun, and carry a water bottle. I would imagine Bakersville is fun anytime, but it's especially fun during the Spring Planting Festival for heirloom gardeners of any skill level.

my mom lives in Ava, and have been back to visit numerous times and had never had the opportunity to go to Bakers Creek. We went one Sunday afternoon and because I am a gardener, I fell in love with the place. I do not think there is are too many types of seeds you cannot find there.I went nuts and brought back packets and packets of all different kinds of fruits, vegetables, flowers and herbs.and of course what would a visit be without a visit to the bakery. The sticky buns were to die for! And so were the apple fritters. Take the time to stop and see this place, it is truly amazing. very interesting for the entire family.

The village was not really operating when we visited, but the selection and knowledge of heirloom seeds was extensive. A bit hard to find.