Daily events are subject to change.
Sunday, November 5, 2023
Welcome to Old Sturbridge Village, a recreated 1830s rural New England town! Fall is an exciting time here. See if you can spot marigolds, autumn crocuses, and dahlias in bloom. See our Blacksmith, Potter, and Tinners at work, and food being prepared by an open hearth with the remains of last year’s harvest, anxiously awaiting the autumn harvest. Our farmers and gardeners are beginning to bring in the harvest, and of course, our farm animals always enjoy a visitor too. Enjoy your visit! Please note: due to hunting season, the Woodland Walk (#44) and Pasture Walk (#46) are closed.
Throughout the Day
Hog Butchering At the Freeman Farm & Farmhouse
Join us to see how we turn a pig into meat for the table. Yesterday’s work left us a clean halved carcass that will be broken down in the farmhouse. The largest cuts set aside for salting and smoking, the fat removed for rendering, and the trimmings set aside for sausage. The crops and animals raised on our farms are used throughout the year in our daily hearth cooking programs. We recognize this is a sensitive topic for many visitors, please use your own discretion. (at the Freeman Farm and Freeman Farmhouse, the area surrounding building #34)
Daily Activities
10:30 a.m. & 1:00 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).
11:30 a.m. & 2:00 p.m. Tales From Long Ago: Popular folk tales told in the 1830s (in the Salem Towne House Lower Kitchen, Building #15).
3:00 p.m. Reading of New England Poetry: Poems by Emerson, Longfellow, and other 19th Century Poets (in the Salem Towne House Lower Kitchen, Building #15).
Civics & Religion
12:00 p.m. The Doctor was Called for: Discover what medicine was like in early 19th century (in the Richardson House, Building #12).
2:30 p.m. Simeon Allen: A Bespoke Shoemaker and More Besides – Learn about Simeon Allen who was Sturbridge, MA’s bespoke shoemaker in the 1830s. Explore his life in and out of his trade as he was a captain in the militia and held many town offices on top of running his own shoe shop. Outside the Shoe Shop (Building #9).
Music Performances
10:00 a.m. Music at the Tavern: Hear a sample of 1830s fiddle tunes (at the Bullard Tavern, Building #3).
11:00 a.m. A Musical Sampler: Hear a selection of early 19th century social music (in the Center Meetinghouse, Building #6).
1:30 p.m. Unusual New England Instruments: Listen to and learn about a selection of the more unusual instruments used during the Village period (at the Bullard Tavern, Building #3).
3:30 p.m. Musical Highlights, the “Hurdy Gurdy”:
Listen to this strange and unusual instrument
(at the Bullard Tavern, Building #3).
Farm
3:00 p.m. Milking Demonstration
(at the Freeman Farm, Building #34).
Trade Shops
Pottery Shop and Kiln (Building #32) Explore the world of pottery and see household vessels being made at the potter’s wheel.
Households
Small House (Building #4) 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.
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.
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.
Dining & Shopping
Bullard Café (Building #3) (on the Ground Floor)
11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Hungry? Stop by lunch or a late snack.
Miner Grant Store & Bake Shop (Building #18)
9:30 a.m. – 4:00 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. – 4:30 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. – 4:30 p.m. Take home a traditional rural New England treasure or unique gift. Village-made crafts and kits, home décor, books, and more await!
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).