Old Sturbridge Village, Part 3

In late September 2025, I enabled my mild obsession with Old Sturbridge Village (OSV), a living history museum in Sturbridge, MA. In this five-part series, I will cover the forty antique buildings depicting rural New England life during the 1830s, exhibits showcasing artifacts from the period, and an art installation featuring cows decorated by local artists. In Part 1, I visited two meetinghouses, a country store, a tavern, a tin shop, and a pair of homes, along with watching costumed interpreters. In Part 2, I explored a school, workshops, mills, a covered bridge, heritage breed animals, costumed interpreters, and houses. In Part 3, I continue my visit to The Countryside by visiting the barn and a pair of workshops before returning to the Common & Center Village.

An unpainted 19th century barn and small corncrib A 19th century barn with a hayloft and wooden equipment stored below A family of white fluffy sheep in a wooden barn.

The 19th century barn once belonging to the Freeman family was built in Charlton around 1840 and is currently home to heritage breed animals. Much like the long-tailed sheep grazing near the entrance, this breed of sheep were developed during the early 19th century. These are known as a horned Wiltshire/Dorset cross and considered an “unimproved” breed, meaning that their wood is considered lower quality. I thought they were still very nice sheep. Nearby were an English black sow and her piglets in a muddy pen. Roaming free were “Dunghill Fowl”, chickens of no distinct breed that were popular during the 1830s. These birds are great at laying eggs and surviving harsh New England winters by foraging for food.

A 19th century unpainted wooden barn and a small corncrib beside a dirt path Grassy fields with a wooden fence A costumed interpreter standing among wooden barrel parts.

Across from the farm was the Cooper Shop, originally built around the same time in 1840 and moved to OSV in 1968. Inside the shop, a costumed interpreter described the process to building wooden barrels. I had seen similar buildings at Strawbery Banke in Portsmouth, NH and Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, CT, as this craft was needed in every early New England town. As I left the Cooper Shop, the yoked oxen came back, this time pulling a cart of hay driven by a costumed interpreter.

A plain wooden building with slats of wood in front A pair of red oxen attached by a wooden yoke pulling a wooden cart full of hay and driven by a costumed interpreter Two baby cows laying in a grassy field. One is white, and one is black.

I next went to the Allen Piggery, a recently restored building originally constructed by John Partridge Allen in the 1830s and opened at OSV in 2023. While modern pigs live in a pen, historical pigs lived in a small building and were fed leftover dairy products from the family's cow. Nearby was Potter Shop & Kiln where yet another costumed interpreter made pots on a wheel. The unpainted shop building was built around 1819 and moved to OSV in 1962, while the red brick kiln is a reproduction built in 1979.

A red brick kiln about two stories tall with stacked wood in an open shed behind it A wooden building with floor to ceiling shelving filled with unfired pottery. A costumed interpreter makes a new pot on a wheel. Skeins of brightly colored yarn hanging from a wooden beam

Upon walking back to the Common & Village Center, I stopped in Fenno House, built around 1725 and moved to OSV in 1949. Today, the building is used for textile demonstrations, and a large handloom took up most of the main room. My favorite section of the building had skeins of dyed yarn in vibrant colors made by natural materials. White paper tags explained what plants made what colors. I had seen a similar exhibit at Thomas Lee House in Niantic, CT.

A grassy field with 19th century buildings A classic whitewashed New England church framed by trees. A yellow-painted single story 18th century house with a gambrel roof

Next door was Fitch House, a yellow Cape-style home with a unique roofline combining the gambrel and saltbox styles. This house was built in 1737 and moved to OSV in 1939. Inside the house were period furnishings, including a mantel clock and a pair of portraits surrounded by yellow fabric. The historical-focused costumed interpreter explained that the fabric protected the art from fly specks, while the musical interpreter played a quiet tune. This concludes the third part of the series, marking the halfway point and the final OSV-themed post for the week.

Location: 1 Old Sturbridge Village Rd, Sturbridge, MA 01566, USA