We spent Friday walking around Old Sturbridge Village (OSV), a 200 acre site with buildings collected from all over New England representing the time period between the Revolutionary war and the 1830s. Inside the buildings are furnishings, tools, house wares, and costumed interpreters to tell the stories of the lives of the villagers during that time period and to demonstrate their activities.
We watched (and spoke with) the blacksmith, the tin maker, and the potter as they did their work.
We visited the cobblers shop, the carding machine shop, and saw spinning wheels and looms in the homes. We visited a shop showing the fabrics and embellishments of the time. We toured homes and spoke with the ladies of the house about their lives. I love these living history museums. The potter was telling us that in the 70’s they had as many as 7000 people a day visiting OSV. Unfortunately, now they have 1500 visitors a day on a good day. It makes the visit nicer for those of us who visit but must be discouraging for the current interpreters. OSV had a museum shop where you could purchase (among many other things) reproduction fabrics and patterns from the village.
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