Welcome to Sturbridge
{Note: Photos taken in the summer of 2019, which is why no
one is masked. Clicking on images will reveal it in a LARGE size}
Welcome to the first version of a doable “Small Towns”
feature since March. Current evidence suggests that masking, social distancing,
and being outside is the safest formula other than barricading yourself in your
home, so let’s visit a place that combines these features: Sturbridge,
Massachusetts.
The Worcester County domicile of Sturbridge is indeed a
small town–just 9,268 people–within spittin’ distance of Connecticut. It has a
picturesque town green, several lakes for recreation, the Tantiusques nature reserve,
and–in the section known as Fiskdale–the Blackington Building, an eye-catching
red brick block built in what I call Gothic barn style. None of these things
would tempt most folks to go there. Except for one thing, Sturbridge would be a
sleepy town occasionally awakened by a busy traffic merge where the Mass Pike
joins Interstate 84. That one thing is Old Sturbridge Village (OSV).
I can practically hear the eyerolls. If you grew up anywhere
within 90 minutes of OSV, chances are good you were once dragged to OSV on a
school field trip. I’ve heard many a New Englander say they would rather re-shingle
the roof–even if it doesn’t need it–than go back to Old Sturbridge. OSV tends
not to get a lot of love from locals, and I confess that I was one of them. Until
last summer, I hadn’t visited since I was living in Vermont, and that was 35
years ago.
Allow me to offer the view that it’s usually a good idea to
let go of youthful prejudices. If you need to get out of Dodge for a bit–and
who doesn’t right now?–OSV will surprise you. If you have a family, there are
200 acres where the kiddos can roam and somehow, it’s not the same deal as when
teachers are watching over them. I observed kids squealing with delight at all
of the farm animals queuing for hayrides, munching on molasses cookies, and
playing old-time games like hoop the hoop.
OSV is an outdoor museum that presents itself as a typical
New England farm village between the years 1790-1830. It’s artifice, of course.
There isn’t much left of the real Sturbridge and most of that lies in the town,
some quarter of a mile away. OSV is an imagined village in which homes,
churches, businesses, and structures were moved from elsewhere and rebuilt on
the OSV site. Farms were laid out in places that were decidedly unlike 19th
century farms. For one thing, they are clean, lack sucking mud streets, and don’t
reek of mold and manure. Nor are the farmers covered in excrement and followed
by clouds of flies. (Believe me, few tourists would ever wish to visit an ‘authentic’
19th century farm!) 
Adults can, however, appreciate the art in the artifice and
learn a few things. Many of the costumed guides try to stay in period character,
and even those who don’t–such as some of the artisans–devote themselves to
producing tinwork, leather goods, milled lumber, baked goods, woven textiles,
and more in accordance with historically accurate methods and technology. So
what if someone occasionally excuses himself to pull an iPhone from his
breeches to answer a call? OSV is a treasure trove for antiquarians, but also
for latter-day artisans and builders who enjoy comparing the old ways to the
new. Plus, unless you’re lucky enough to employ a team of gardeners, you can
get a botanical education by wandering though the herb garden. Both the pasture
and river walks are bucolic, healthful, and restorative. Except for the trails,
most things are wheelchair accessible.
In short, OSV is simply a nice way to while away a summer’s
day. You might even wish to venture into the actual town. I won’t say it’s a
gourmand’s delight–more of a pizza, fast food, and quick Chinese or Thai kind
of place–but you can find spots to relax and refuel before driving home. Isn’t
it time to exorcise those old fieldtrip demons?
Rob Weir
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