Green Gate Farms

This farmstead has always been an inspiring, welcoming place. In 2006, writers Skip Connett and Erin Flynn rented the 1902 Bergstrom farmhouse and farmland around it, to establish Green Gate Farms, a certified organic, community-based farm. The Bergstrom farm site — comprised of a farmhouse, mule barn, and three outbuildings (well house, chicken coop, and farm office) — was built around 1902 in east Austin by immigrants Carl and Hilma Bergstrom, whose families were part of a large Swedish migration that came to Central Texas in the 1880s. Like the Native Americans before them, they were drawn to the Post Oak savannah, grassy plains, and rich soil that make this part of east Austin so beautiful. This farm site is older than many of Austin’s iconic landmarks — including the Littlefield Building, Paramount Theater, and the Stephen F. Austin Hotel. But unlike so much of Austin lost to the wrecking ball, this farm managed to survive development pressures due to a concerted effort led by Green Gate Farms to bring together neighbors, the City of Austin, Roberts Communities and others beginning in 2015. The result is the historic buildings and farm now work as a farm-focused community (also known as an agrihood) srounded by Village Farm, a neighborhood of tiny homes. The only development of its kind in the US! Prior to 2006, the Farm was home to musicians Patrice Sullivan and Frank Orrall, who created the band Poi Dog Pondering and hosted creative guests from around the world (long before SXSW was even an idea). Photographers, artists, filmmakers, and musicians at the heart of Austin’s music scene stayed at the farm, enjoying Texas hospitality, horseback riding, and finding arrowheads underneath the willow trees. These artists include Mathew McConaughey, John Sayles, Coen Brothers, Kahane Cooperman, Ian McLagan, blues pianist Grey Ghost, Jody Payne (Willie Nelson’s lead guitarist), and more. According to Richard Linklater’s cameraman Clark Walker, “There was a little bit of an open door policy in force during those years - if it got too full, we let them sleep in the hayloft.” This farm has been instrumental in supporting the creativity of Austin. We hope you will visit, support, and celebrate this important part of Austin’s history, too. Barn on cotton farm in Travis County taken by WPA photographer Russell Lee in 1940 CREATIVES WHO LIVED OR VISITED THE FARM INCLUDE: “During SXSW all bets were off, and the list of bands sleeping in the farmhouse bunkhouses is beyond my ability to recall. I do remember guests from Sweden, Japan, Germany, Italy and France as well as some former eastern bloc countries being represented - musical ambassadors of their own nations who got to see a real Texas farmhouse, and occasionally enjoy a horseback ride and some local food before or after their gigs. There was a little bit of an open door policy in force during those years - if it got too full we let them sleep in the hayloft.” Clark Walker, cameraman for filmmaker Richard Linklater Frank Orrall (of the band Poi Dog Pondering) & his then-wife Patrice Clark Walker & Ann Walker-McBay (lived in farm at same time as Frank Orrall) Russell Lee (photographer, documented farm for FSA) Vic Chestnut (singer songwriter from Athens, Georgia) Abra Moore (former Poi Dog Pondering founding member; was in a music video shot at the farm) Asylum Street Spankers (early 90s music scene) Ian McLagan (member of the English rock bands Small Faces and Face; also collaborated with the Rolling Stones and led his own band from the late 1970s) Jody Payne (Willie Nelson’s lead guitarist) Randy “Biscuit” Turner (American punk singer and artist) Steven Bruton(guitarist, songwriter) Don Walser (American country music singer) Jean Pierre Goran (French filmmaker) Mathew McConaughey (shot part of his UT student film in the back of the barn) Frederick Wiseman (documentary director) Eagle Pennell (famous for his films, “The Whole Shootin Match”, “Last Night at t