A Trip Into New England’s Past
by Emily Cardozo
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As summer approaches, some parents may be dreading the phrase “there’s nothing to do,” which can become almost a slogan for many households. Long before video games and the Internet, families have had to find entertainment and sustenance in the most basic items. Modern citizens both young and old are often fascinated by the idea of life in the “olden days.”

For a peek into the busy lives of those in the past, your family might enjoy a trip to Massachusetts, where entire towns invite visitors to take a step back in time and experience what life was like hundreds of years ago in rural New England. Mixing history with fun, these areas will provide each member of your family with a glimpse into a different time, where there was always something to do, and where modern families can join in the experience.

Plimoth Plantation

Life in the earliest days of colonial existence is the focus of Plimoth Plantation. Here, costumed role players who have taken on the names, viewpoints and life histories of the people who actually lived in the 17th-century colony will provide your family with an authentic trip back in time.

In the 1627 Pilgrim Village, a re-creation of the small farming town built by English colonists, visitors are surrounded by the houses, gardens, livestock and people that inhabited Plymouth Colony, the first permanent English settlement in New England.

This self-guided “exhibit” allows guests to walk around the village at their own pace, interacting with the characters and exploring the houses and beliefs of the time. Each role player goes about the rhythms of everyday 17th-century life, grinding corn, cooking in hearths, gardening, building and doing other daily chores.

A visit to Nye Barn constitutes its own trip back in time. Since 1980, Plimoth Plantation has helped conserve rare and heritage breed livestock from around the world. The animals at Nye Barn, as well as those in the 1627 Pilgrim Village, are all older breeds that were common in past centuries, but have low breeding populations today. The Nye Barn offers a close-up look at these animals, as well as a wealth of information regarding these breeds.

Along with the charm of the 1627 Pilgrim Village, guests can visit Mayflower II, a reproduction of the Mayflower, which sailed from England in 1620. Aboard, visitors will learn about that voyage, the perils of life on the sea, and the tools of 17th century navigation. There is also the opportunity to explore the passengers’ and sailors’ quarters, the lower level “hold,” and the Master’s cabin. Both role-playing and present-day staff are available on board to answer questions and share their personal accounts.

Truly learning about the life at Plimoth also requires learning about the native people who lived in the area, which is the focus of the Wampanoag Homesite. Unlike the colonists in the village, the people here tell their story from a modern, real-life perspective. Visitors can step into a traditional Wampanoag house and be surrounded by furs, firelight and bulrush mats, and learn about traditional Wampanoag life as well as the arrival of the English from an indigenous point of view.

The Wampanoag Homesite explores the story of one 17th-century Wampanoag man, Hobbamock, and offers the opportunity to explore Wampanoag culture and history, including plant remedies, food and clothing.

At the Crafts Center, families can talk with Plimoth Plantation’s skilled potters, tailors, basket makers and furniture makers. Artisans here reproduce many of the objects used in the 1627 Pilgrim Village and on board Mayflower II.

Adjacent to the Crafts Center is the museum shop, where guests will have the opportunity to purchase some of these items and bring the past home.

The museum has two separate locations: the Plimoth Plantation location is three miles south of downtown Plymouth, and the Mayflower II is on the Plymouth waterfront. Plimoth Plantation is open seven days a week. Exhibits are open from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mayflower II and dockside exhibits are open from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. The 1627 Pilgrim Village opens at 9:30 a.m.

Two-day tickets to Plimoth Plantation are $21 for adults, $12 for children ages six-12, $19 for seniors and free for children five and under. Tickets to the Mayflower II are $8 for adults, $6 for children ages six-12 and $7 for seniors. Children five and under are admitted free. Combination tickets are also available and include admission to both locations. These are $24 for adults, $14 for children ages six-12, $21 for seniors and free for children five and under. Plimoth Plantation is located at 137 Warren Avenue in Plymouth. For more information call 508-746-1622 or visit www.plimoth.org.

Old Sturbridge Village

Families can travel to the life of the early 19th century when they visit Old Sturbridge Village. This town offers a wide variety of activities and exhibits that portray typical life from 1790-1840, a time period in which the everyday lives of New Englanders were influenced by social, economic, political, educational and aesthetic changes.

This museum, which is the largest outdoor history museum in the Northeast, provides modern visitors with a personal encounter with historical New England life. More than 40 original buildings, each carefully researched and restored, are available for visitors to explore. These include homes, meetinghouses, a district school, country store, bank, law and printing offices, a carding mill, sawmill and trade shops.

Throughout the 200 acres of Old Sturbridge Village, authentically costumed staff, called history interpreters, carry out the daily activities of this early community. Families can interact with these characters along country roads and get a true glimpse of life as it would be during that time.

Kids can create their own personal encounter with history at Old Sturbridge Village when they visit Kidstory, which is a discovery gallery filled with interactive learning opportunities for all ages. Kidstory features a 1830s household and yard, barn and farmyard, country store, clothing corner and two discovery centers.

Here, children can pretend to use the fireplace for cooking, draw water from the dooryard well for laundry and shop for household goods in the miniature country store. This gallery also includes boxed activities, books, puzzles and farm and animal toys. In the clothes corner, period costumes are available for kids to try on, along with props that can be used to create a “portrait.”

The barn in Kidstory includes a chicken coop with toy hens and eggs for gathering and life-sized models of a 19th-century cow and pig. Young children will enjoy a complete miniature barnyard, while older kids can try their hand at the farmyard chores their counterparts would have had in those times.

Daily exhibits abound at Old Sturbridge Village, offering families an interactive experience with the past. In the Towne Dairy, visitors can learn about cheese and butter making in early New England. A Child’s Life, taking place in the Fitch House, allows children to try on costumes and help with farm and household chores.

Families can also visit the various buildings throughout the village and watch a blacksmith hard at work, observe a farmer plowing fields or discover what a 19th-century lesson at the schoolhouse might have been like.

Nature-loving families might enjoy the Woodland Walk, made up of self-guided trail walks across pastureland, woodland and the riverbank that offer a look at 19th-century life from an environmental perspective.

Garden exhibits are also available to explore, including kitchen and herb gardens. Every Sunday in June, visitors can tour a different village garden or learn about a different historical horticultural theme.

Gallery talks take place every Friday on various topics that include cooking with herbs in the 1800s; 19th-century bee-keeping; the museum’s newest ongoing exhibit, the Small House, which is still under construction and available for visitors to observe; and a historic children’s garden.

At the Museum Gift Shop and New England Bookstore, visitors can browse a wide variety of historic objects for purchase. Guests might want to take home gifts ranging from a handmade corn broom and village souvenir clothing to jewelry or reproduction cutlery. Children will delight in getting their own historical toys, while the beauty-conscious will enjoy the shop’s collection of personal care items.

Old Sturbridge Village is open Tuesday-Sunday from 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. The village is closed on Mondays. Admission is $20 for adults, $18 for seniors, $6 for children ages three-17 and free for children under the age of three. All admissions are good for two days within a 10-day period. The village is located at 1 Old Sturbridge Village Road in Sturbridge. For more information call 508-347-3362 or visit www.osv.org.

With the long days of summer looming, families will enjoy the opportunity to travel back in time and re-create history at either Plimoth Plantation or Old Sturbridge Village. Learning about life in New England in the past can offer interesting insights into modern life, while providing a fun vacation from the mundane.

After visiting one of these historical re-creations, children and adults will take away an understanding of the steps our ancestors have taken through history to the present, and perhaps a greater appreciation of the comparative comforts of life we enjoy today.

This article was originally printed in the June 2006 issue of Connecticut Parent Magazine