Old Sturbridge Village -an outdoor museum in Massachusetts that depicts life in a working community of the 1830s. Presenting a portrait of the village based on photographs, artifacts and detailed research, this book, published in the year of its 50th anniversary, takes readers from the rustic farmhouse kitchen to the genteel parlour in the finest house on the village common, and from the blacksmith's shop with its ringing hammers to the rural printing office with its bookstore. It stops along the way to examine and explain home furnishings and decorative arts, costume and dress, food and cooking utensils, and implements and devices of many kinds. Eight chapters focus on the historical background of changing New England: farming, with its seasonal tasks and customs; women's lives and their households; mill neighbourhoods with their sawmills and gristmills; artisans and rural industry; the village centre, more attuned to changes emanating from the cities; community events; and the story of Old Sturbridge Village itself, which is a major influence in the field of historic preservation and restoration. - Hard cover - 224 pages