Sharp's Travels

Today we went to Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, MA. It’s a journey back to the world of rural New England during America’s early years (1790-1840).
Back in 1930 two brothers got a crazy idea to buy old buildings, take them apart, and put them back together again in Sturbridge. In 1946 the village opened its doors to the public.
We arrived at the Village about 9:45am. And it took us until 3:45 to see the whole thing.
We received an event schedule when we checked in and immediately headed for the back of the settlement to catch the demonstration at the saw mill. It is power driven by water. As they opened the water gates the saw began working. The water wheels are all made of wood. We asked lots of questions and enjoyed the demonstration.
We walked on out to the Freeman Farm and talked with the costumed family on the farm. They were chopping wood and gathering things to make dinner. We checked out the barn and farm animals.
We headed back to the gristmill to watch the demonstration on grinding corn and oats. The grinder was also powered by water.
At the blacksmith shop they demonstrated how they made long handled fork and ladle.
The carding mill demonstrated preparing wool for the spinning wheel and making quilt batting. Again water driven machinery.
We watched pottery being made and saw the printing press in action.
We enjoyed a boat ride on the Quinebaug River and a stagecoach ride through town.
The houses all had costumed interpreters. We visited the bank, tavern, meetinghouse, school, church and Knight’s Store.
We played a little too. We tried walking on stilts and rolling the wooden hoops down the street with sticks. It was a great time. We would recommend this attraction to everyone.
I got Gay to stop at the Yankee Peddler Shop on the way back to the 5th wheel. It was so crammed with things that you didn’t know what to look at. It’s not my way to shop, so we headed home.
Gay has up loaded pictures of the day. See album: Old Sturbridge Village