Old Sturbridge Village, One of the Great New England Museums
By James Hyde

Old Sturbridge Village, in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, is a “living history” museum. It functions very much as a New England town of the 1830s would have, and it's fascinating and enlightening to see how skills—long forgotten by most of us—were employed in a variety of ways to make such a village thrive.

As an historical site, Old Sturbridge Village brings the early to mid 1800s to life vividly with considerable detail and historical accuracy. Each building was brought to the site from other towns around the region to make up a Village typical of the period in rural New England.

Here one can learn about the emphasis on the agrarian lifestyle that characterized much of the nation during the period.

Much more than a museum, historical site or simply a great New England museum, Old Sturbridge Village is quintessentially New England in its essence and character. It's steeped in Yankee ethics, tradition and ingenuity and the surrounding area is peaceful and inviting.

This great NewEngland museum is about as complete an early 1800s town as one can find anywhere. Its exhibits are living characterizations of a far simpler time; a lifestyle replete with differing beliefs, religious and philosophical, that blended here into a unique, harmonious environment that flourished as the nation grew.