Old Sturbridge Village: Changes in History

The past 2 weeks I took a vacation with my mom and sister to visit with some family, and on the way there we stopped at Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts.

If you aren’t familiar with Old Sturbridge Village, from there website it is described as:

“A recreated 1830s rural New England town! Explore our 200+ acres and 40 historical buildings, chat with costumed historians as they work the tasks of the past, and be inspired by the stories of early 19th-century rural New England life.”

I had been wanting to go there for a few years now, since my grandfather told me about it awhile ago. He believed a mural in the house may have been inspired by the property at the museum.

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Connecting the Past with the Future

As we walked around the land and explored the buildings, it led me to thinking how different times were in the 1830s compared to now.

Small towns once had little shops with workers that had special skills to create things to buy for your home.

We saw a blacksmith shop, a wood worker, fabrics, and a collection of clocks, just to name a few.

There was the Salem House that featured a tour describing the layout of the house and all the items in it. And stories of how the mirrors on the walls were placed to reflect the sunlight and windows structured to let in the cool air.

Each possession had a purpose, and significant value and meaning.

There were animals in the fields and herbs growing in gardens near a farm-to-table style restaurant for tourists.

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Evolution of Change

It made it all seem so simple and quiet.

Now we live in a time where countless items are available at a touch of a button on a phone that is always in our reach.

While this can be a good thing, it also overwhelms each household with “stuff” that is so easily discarded. The items do not always have the same significance as something homemade.

I know there were different challenges in the 1800s and every time period changes and evolves.

One is not necessarily better than the other.

Modern Times

Being the millennial that I am, remembering life before modern technology, and learning about the lifestyles from almost 200 years ago, I think of how far America has come.

But if I’m being honest, I often feel bombarded by the world we live in.

The constant need for things, both materialistically and physical tasks, is very overwhelming.

We never get to “turn off.”

Things like social media, work emails, personal responsibilities, and negative news just keep coming, whether we want to see/hear them or not.

So I wonder, did our ancestors ever feel this way? Maybe they did but in different types of scenarios.

Did their time pass slower? Because they weren’t filling every moment with something to do, look at, respond to, or buy?

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Peace in the Quiet Moments

Was it peaceful? Without loud cars, trucks, television, different people’s music playing constantly, and advertisements everywhere?

I try to sit outside and listen to the sound of birds in my apartment complex, but often times it is a struggle over the noise in the neighborhood.

Our ways of living have certainly shifted, and personally I have a hard time with the lack of quietness wherever I go.

I’m not saying I would want to live in another time, but it is interesting to compare the transitions of past to present.

Enjoying the Moment

During my vacation I tried my best to not look at my phone and simply, Be Present.

I sat in our cottage in Maine and just looked out at the water. I soaked in those memories the best I could because I knew it wouldn’t last forever.

Could I have looked at my phone? Sure, but what for? It’ll all still be there later on.

But the current moment, won’t be. Before we all realize, it’ll be over.

And maybe someday, our descendants will walk through a museum or piece of land, showing what our lives were like. And they’ll be the ones learning our history.

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Old Sturbridge Village

To learn more and plan a trip to Old Sturbridge Village, here is there website: https://www.osv.org/ and youtube page: https://www.youtube.com/@OldSturbridgeVillage/videos

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