Daily events are subject to change.
Sunday, May 14, 2023
Welcome to Old Sturbridge Village, a recreated 1830s rural New England town! Spring is an exciting time here. See if you can spot crocus and snowdrops springing from the soil. See our artisans making handcrafted items from iron, tin plate, clay, leather, and wood. Watch as food is being prepared by an open hearth with the remains of last year’s harvest, anxiously awaiting the new spring growth. Our farmers and gardeners are industriously preparing the soil for the planting season, and of course, our farm animals, including newborn lambs, always enjoy a visitor too. Enjoy your visit!
Daily Activities
10:00 a.m. & 1:30 p.m. A Guided Tour of the Salem Towne House: Tour the home of a prosperous farmer with a costumed educator (in the hallway of the Salem Towne House, Building #16).
11:00 a.m. & 2:30 p.m. A Reading of Floral Poetry: Discover the 19th Century “language” of flowers
(at the Salem Towne House Garden, #16).
12:00 & 3:30 p.m. Meet a 19th Century Midwife: Learn about childbirth in the 1830s
(at the Salem Towne House Garden, #16).
Civics & Religion
11:30 a.m. Schooling in the 19th Century: Hear what education was like in the 1830s (in the District School, Building #33).
3:00 p.m. Lydia Maria Child: Learn about this remarkable woman who was considered by some to be ‘The First Woman of the Republic’ and much more than simply the American Frugal Housewife (in the Richardson House, Building #13.
Music Performances
10:30 a.m. & 1:00 p.m. Ballroom Etiquette: Learn about the forms of ceremony or decorum used in the entertainment of dancing during the 1830s
(in the Bullard Tavern, Building #3).
11:30 a.m. & 2:00 p.m. Dancing School: Learn to leap or move with measured steps in the style of an 1830s dancing master (at the Gebhardt Barn, Building #14).
3:00 p.m. Musical Highlights, the “Hurdy Gurdy”: Listen to this strange and unusual instrument
(in the Bullard Tavern, Building #3).
Households
Small House (Building #5) Costumed interpreters are here to help you understand the past as it relates to the present. Make this your first stop to say “good day” and orient yourself to our 1830s Village.
Trades
Cabinetmaking Shop (Building #8) Period cabinetmakers made a wide variety of wares including tables, chairs, chests and other case furniture. Explore this trade shop, and learn more about the tools and techniques used by nineteenth century woodworkers.
Cooper Shop (Building #37) Coopers make round wooden containers including pails, tubs, and barrels for their neighbors.
Community
Asa Knight Store (Building #11) Country stores brought in goods from all over the world, through seaports like Boston and Providence. They also bought locally produced goods such as butter, cheese, and handwork for sale in those urban commercial centers.
Hands-on Crafts in Kidstory (Building #2)
2:30-4:30 p.m. Dip A Candle, $4.00 per craft.
Purchase a $4.00 token for Crafts at the Visitor Center or the Miner Grant Store. Instruction by Costumed Interpreter; make an item to take home.
Please note tokens are nonrefundable.
Unused tokens can be redeemed on a future visit.
Dining & Shopping
Bullard Café (Building #3) (on the Ground Floor)
11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. A variety of lunch options and beverages.
Miner Grant Store & Bake Shop (Building #19)
9:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Stop in to buy our famous chocolate chip cookies, Joe Frogger cookies, and treats. Shop for Village-made wares, heirloom seeds, historical children’s toys and gifts, too!
Ox & Yoke Mercantile (Building #1)
10:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Take home a traditional rural New England treasure or locally made gift. Village-made crafts and kits, home décor, books, and more await!
The Environmental Point of View
Woodland Walk (#47) A short hike along Pogus Brook to a wooded viewing platform.
Pasture Walk (#49) Takes you to the top of Powder House Hill, offering views of the pastured landscape.
River Walk (#50) Best views of the Wight Dam and a peaceful setting to enjoy the Quinebaug River.
New England on Parade
Learn about the long history of parades in this region, and their many purposes. Visit both of the exhibitions’ locations in the Visitor Center (#2C), and Armed & Equipped Militia Exhibit (#26).
Old Sturbridge Village’s new exhibit
Needle and Thread: The Art and Skill of Clothing an Early 19th Century Family highlights the responsibilities held by rural New England housewives in constructing new garments, patching, mending, and darning worn items, and repurposing old items into new wardrobes. The exhibit features over a dozen garments and accessories, along with other textile and clothing objects from the Old Sturbridge Village Museum Collections (in the Dennison Building, #28).
Upcoming Event
Wool Days: May 27 – May 29
Discover how New England farmers used the wool from their sheep in the 1830s at Old Sturbridge Village’s annual Wool Days. Farmers will give the sheep their annual “haircut” while costumed historians demonstrate the entire wool textile process from scouring and carding the wool to dyeing, spinning, and then knitting the dyed yarn.