Daily events are subject to change.
Welcome to Old Sturbridge Village, a recreated 1830s rural New England town! Join us for Craft Weekend, highlighting a variety of New England crafts and trades from the early 19th Century. The Village’s Craftspeople will showcase their skills through traditional craft demonstrations and special presentations. Visit our display in the Visitor Center, featuring handcrafted items made in our households and trade shops, and talk with our potters as they load our kiln for the annual wood firing on Friends’ Day. Craft demonstrations include spinning, basket weaving, sewing, broom making, forging decorative fireplace tongs, barrel firing, and more. The New England Lace Group will be demonstrating their lace-making technique in the Bullard Tavern. Enjoy your visit!
Craft Weekend Programming
Throughout the Day:
- The New England Lace Group: Originating in the 15thCentury in Europe, bobbin lace has a long tradition in most European countries and is still made around the world. Using a firm cushion or pillow, the lace is made using a pricking (pattern) and threads wound on bobbins. Modern day lace makers recreate this historic craft (in the Bullard Tavern Taproom, Building #3).
- Forging decorative fireplace tongs
(in the Blacksmith Shop, Building #37) - Silky and Strong: Spinning Yarn of Milkweed Floss and Wool (in the Fenno House, Building #22)
- Broom Making Demonstration (in the Bixby House Wood Shed, Building # 36)
10:00 a.m. Iron and Steel Tools of the Sewing Trades:
A look at the common household items used by sewists and tailors across the world (in the Fitch House, Building #20)
2:00 p.m. Firing a Barrel: See the coopers prepare and fire their barrels. This process involves heating and bending the sides with an open flame, which creates the distinctive barrel shape (at the Cooper Shop, Building #35).
3:00 p.m. Understanding Clay, Glaze, and Our Kiln:
A look into the world of glaze chemistry and what it takes to fire a pottery kiln (at the Pottery Shop, Building #32)
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 (meets in the hallway of the Salem Towne House, Building #15).
11:00 a.m. & 2:00 p.m. Pirate Tales From New England’s Rocky Shores: Tales about swashbuckling – and – nasty pirates
(in the Gebhardt Barn, Building #13).
12:00 p.m. & 3:30 p.m. Meet 19th Century Midwife: Learn about childbirth in the 1830s (in the Salem Towne House Lower Kitchen, Building #15).
Gardens
11:30 a.m. Food Safety in the 19th Century: Should you be eating that? Even two hundred years ago, some people wondered if the foods they were eating might not be good for them. Learn about Sylvester Graham, who traveled the East Coast, alerting people to the dangers in their foods, and the benefits of a simple life without stimulants and food adulterants (at the Bixby Garden, #36).
2:00 p.m. Keeping Up With the Townes: The Towne Family was well off with an impressive “pleasure garden” to prove it. Join a gardener for a walking tour of OSV’s gardens highlighting the evolution of ornamental gardening in the 19th Century. See how families aspired to be more like the Townes (meets at the Bixby House, #36).
The Carryall (weather permitting)
We offer a horse-drawn carryall ride included with the price of admission. From 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. you can board behind the Bullard Tavern (#3) or in front of the Blacksmith Shop (#37) about every 20 minutes for a ride around the Mill Pond. There is no carryall operating outside of this time.
10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. Ride the Stagecoach|$4.00 per person
Hundreds of stagecoaches linked most towns in early New England, carrying passengers and mail on set schedules. Today the stagecoach circles our historic common. Purchase a $4.00 token at the Visitor Center or the Miner Grant Store. Picks up outside the Bullard Tavern. Please note tokens are nonrefundable. Unused tokens can be redeemed on a future visit.
Exhibitions
For the Purpose of Illumination: This new exhibit draws upon OSV’s large collection of lighting devices and prompts us to examine the impact that artificial lighting had in the early 19th century and continues to have on our lives today (in the Countryside Gallery, Building #38).
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 Collection (in the Dennison Building, #27).
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 #18)
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, historical children’s toys and gifts, too!
Ox & Yoke Café (Building #1)
10:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Featuring scrumptious sweet and savory baked goods made right on-site, along with freshly ground coffee, beer and wine, maple water, and more. Enjoy pies, focaccia, cheesecake, or a “flight” of cookies!
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!