Oregon Field Trips: Philip Foster Farm

When most people think of Oregon and history, they think of the Oregon Trail. It's a legitimate connection. After all, the Oregon Trail brought about 400,000 people west to the Pacific Coast. Many of those settlers came to Oregon City, also known as The End of the Oregon Trail.

If you'd like to study the Oregon Trail and the settlement of Oregon, I recommend checking out the Philip Foster Farm. This little historical farm tucked in the foothills of the Cascades is about 15 miles west of Oregon City. It became known as the first sign of civilization after crossing over the mountains into Oregon Territory.

The farm is now an educational site that is open for visiting during the spring through fall, with tours available in the spring and fall. We attended on their yearly Homeschool Day in the beginning of October.  There were many hands-on activities for the kids to do to teach about the history of the area and what life would have been like for settlers in the mid-1800's.

Trying our hand at the saw.

Grinding corn.

A hand drill requires a lot of work!

Writing our names with a quill & ink!

Students from the Estacada Web Academy learn all about farm life and then serve as our guides on the farm. Their teacher told us the story about Philip Foster and his roll in the settlement of the area.

The blacksmith shop.

Dancing.

The students were all dressed in time period costume!

(Well, except for the sun glasses....)

We were able to tour the inside of the house furnished with the same types of items the Foster family owned. Did you know that little baby boys wore dresses?

We really enjoyed our tour of the Philip Foster Farm.  We look forward to heading out there again, hopefully with our homeschool group! 

Find more fun field trip ideas over at Hip Homeschool Moms!