New England Living Museums are special destinations depicting times and a way of life from America’s past.

It’s an opportunity for current generations to experience what it was like at different moments and locations in America’s history.

These are not your average city museum with neat rows of glass enclosed artifacts.

The living museums of New England are designed for authenticity and more importantly interaction. Many depict a community or way of life with people role-playing to make the time period as authentic as possible, complete with costume, language and dialect.

Visitors are encouraged to ask questions and answers are given in the character of the person being portrayed.

This is a list of my favorite New England Living Museums along with information and further resources about each.

Mystic Seaport, Mystic, Connecticut:

New England in the 19th century was known the world over as the capital of the whaling industry. A number of the whaling vessels were built in Connecticut shipyards and Mystic Seaport on the eastern Connecticut coastline is a recreation of a 19th century whaling village complete with shops, shipyard, tall ships and is open year round. More >>>

Old Sturbridge Village, Sturbridge, Massachusetts:

Old Sturbridge Village in central Massachusetts is a warm and friendly place to visit. The village depicts a 19th century New England rural town with many buildings moved and restored from other states in the northeast. Role playing is taken seriously here so if you talk about your iPod you’ll get blank stares from the occupants of those in the houses and practicing their trades. This place is popular with school field trips and open all seasons. More >>>

Plimoth Plantation and the Mayflower, Plymouth, Massachusetts:

Allow a full day to see both Plimoth Plantation and the Mayflower II replica. Visitors will experience early colonial life in one of the first settlements in New England. The Mayflower is docked on the Plymouth downtown waterfront near Plymouth Rock. Plimoth Plantation is a few miles outside the town center, and is really two places in one - the 1627 Pilgrim Village and the Hobbamock’s (Wampanoag) Homesite. The Pilgrim villagers role-play but at the Wampanoag site you’ll get modern day answers. Open year round. More >>>

Hancock Shaker Village, Pittsfield, Massachusetts:

The Hancock Shaker Village recreates the life of a thriving Shaker Community in its collection of buildings, artifacts and farm lands. Sold to Shaker enthusiasts in 1960 careful restoration and recreation of the Shaker way of life is presented in tours and exhibits. Open year round you can see demonstrations and enjoy participatory activities to learn more about the peaceful and simple existence of a Shaker community. More >>>

Strawbery Banke Museum, Portsmouth, New Hampshire:

Strawbery Banke Museum lets you experience the 400-year history of the oldest settlement in New Hampshire all year round. Many of the neighborhoods of 42 buildings are on their original foundations and offer a wonderful trip through Portsmouth’s history as a major trading post through its decline and rise again as a commercial hub. The Strawbery Banke Gardens also provide a rich and unique opportunity to walk through centuries of garden history in the preserved landscapes. More >>>

Canterbury Shaker Village, Canterbury, New Hampshire:

Northern New England’s premier Shaker village to visit is the Canterbury Shaker Village in New Hampshire. It contains 25 restored and 4 reconstructed Shaker buildings to experience by self-guided or organized tours. At one time over 300 people was part of this historic Shaker community set in a tranquil and scenic area of the Granite state. The village is open for visitors from early May to end of the fall season. More >>>

Shelburne Museum, Shelburne, Vermont:

Best described as a diverse experience, Shelburne Museum is located in Vermont’s scenic Lake Champlain valley. Part art museum and part craft museum with a healthy sprinkling of American Folk art, its spread out over 39 exhibition buildings placed in a village-like setting. Many of the buildings have been relocated from New York and other New England states and include houses, barns, a meeting house, covered bridge, and a jailhouse. Open from early May through fall only. More >>>

More destinations and attractions from around New England in a few days time so come back or just subscribe to the Complete New England RSS feed here.

Cliff Calderwood
Editor
New England Times Publishing, LLC

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