Why Spring Might Be the Best Time to Visit Old Sturbridge Village

Few New England museums can claim to make learning more fun than it is at Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, which allows visitors to experience a rural village frozen in time somewhere between 1790 and 1840. We love stopping by this living history museum in every season, but spring just might be the best time to check out this popular New England destination. Here’s a look back at our spring 2019 visit.

Why Spring Might Be the Best Time to Visit Old Sturbridge Village

1.  It’s Open!

After a long New England winter, the coming of spring can feel like a miracle. As the weather turns warmer and the late-winter mud recedes, the itch to get outside hits many people pretty hard. Truth be told, not all of our favorite destinations are particularly spring-friendly, but Old Sturbridge Village is a delightful exception. From late February to late May, the village is open from Wednesday through Sunday, plus every day during April school vacation week.

2. Maple Season!

March is maple season at Old Sturbridge Village, and March Maple Days weekends start things off right. Interesting fact: As the reenactors are quick to explain, maple sugaring was already considered a little old-fashioned by the 1830s, since imported sugar was inexpensive and increasingly common in those days. However, some households still boiled syrup as a sort of protest against the slave economy on which the sugar cane industry operated.

3. Baby Animals!

If maple isn’t your thing, how about adorable baby animals? In April, Family Farm Fest weekends are a great opportunity to meet spring’s new arrivals. Among the heritage-breed newborns you might encounter are Wiltshire Horn–Dorset sheep, Devon cattle, Red Dorking–Dominique chickens, English Black pigs, and Blue Slate turkeys. In addition to learning about the farming tools and techniques of the day, you might even get a chance to “meet” Little House on the Prairie author Laura Ingalls Wilder (as played by a historian).

And More!

In addition to special events such as Family Farm Fest and March Maple Days, a spring visit to Old Sturbridge Village gives you access to all the year-round fun: watching a blacksmith, weaver, or cobbler at work, for instance, and strolling nature trails complete with waterfalls and a covered bridge. With more than 200 acres at your disposal and thousands of artifacts on display, you can easily pass a day wandering from building to building just to see what you’ll find. And thanks to rotating exhibits on subjects such as quilting, firearms and the militia, and cabinetmaking in early New England, there’s bound to be something new every time you visit.

Have you ever visited Old Sturbridge Village? Let us know!

This post was first published in 2019 and has been updated. 

SEE MORE:
Christmas by Candlelight at Old Sturbridge Village
Exploring Plimoth Plantation

Joe Bills

Former associate editor Joe Bills is the co-owner of Escape Hatch Books in Jaffrey, New Hampshire. After nearly a decade of fact-checking, responding to readers, and writing several articles for Yankee, he now brings his expertise to our sister publication The Old Farmer's Almanac.

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