Talk about new dining experiences! World travelers Ron and Debbie Newmark have sampled countless cuisines in a variety of settings, but nothing like the meal served at the Bors Hede Inne.
First, they were treated to “genteel lavering” (hand-washing). Then they received “trenchers”—half-loaves of bread that doubled as plates. That was followed by dishes prepared from medieval recipes, which they consumed as a minstrel sang songs that traced their origins back to feudal times.
The Newmarks are not time-travelers. They were enjoying an event that could have occurred in 14th-century England while visiting the Camlann Medieval Village in Carnation, a tiny town in Washington state. It’s one of a number of living history museums where visitors can immerse themselves in life as it was led long ago.
Debbie enjoyed chatting with authentically attired individuals who described their everyday lives and shared village gossip. Ron was intrigued by watching the blacksmith and carpenter doing their daily chores.
Historical interpreters who dress, act, and speak in the 17th-century way discuss their lives and answer questions posted by guests at the Plimoth Plantation in Massachusetts. They demonstrate cooking, animal husbandry, and other chores in and around timber-framed houses that are furnished with reproductions of objects the Pilgrims owned.
English settlers in 1630 chose a tidal inlet near present-day Portsmouth, New Hampshire, as a safe harbor for a settlement. Historians tell us they called it Strawberry Bank for the profusion of wild fruit growing nearby.
Their life is reproduced at the Strawberry Banke Museum, a 10-acre complex with 32 historic buildings and costumed role-players who reenact the lives of people who lived there. John Stavers and his daughters manage their 1777 tavern and stagecoach stop. Mrs. Ichabod Goodwin, the wife of New Hampshire’s governor, tends her formal garden. The barrel maker, weaver, and other tradespeople demonstrate their skills and invite audience members to try their hand at their trade.
More than 300 years of history, from the 1700s to the present, are represented at Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan. Here the innovations and lasting impact of people who changed the country and the world are brought to life.
Step into the lab where Thomas Edison had his lightbulb moment and the workshop where the Wright brothers began their quest to reach for the sky. You can ride in a Model T Ford, watch an 1867 baseball game and, if you wish, take part in a muster drill under the command of Captain Miles Standish.
Some living-history destinations bring to life chapters of the American Revolution. Thousands of people flock to historic Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, each April on Patriots Day weekend to commemorate the opening battle of the war.
Events include reenactment of the skirmish and Paul Revere’s ride and tours of historic landmarks such as Buckman Tavern (circa 1710), which was a favorite gathering place of the New England colonial militia.
No one is more closely associated with America’s battle for freedom from British rule than George Washington, and he comes alive at Mount Vernon, Virginia. The original estate was built by Washington’s father around 1734, long before his son would become commander of the Continental Army and later the first president.
Those who go there today may meet George and his wife Martha, view demonstrations of 18th-century household activities and challenge themselves by contemplating how they would deal with situations that Washington faced. These include whether to risk your soldiers’ lives by undertaking the treacherous crossing of the Delaware River and how to overcome doubts and despair among the troops that brought them to the brink of mutiny.
One focus of exhibits and activities at Mount Vernon is innovative farming practices that Washington devised. Agriculture is the main attraction at the Farmers’ Museum in Cooperstown, New York. The land has been used for growing crops since 1813, and exhibits and interactive workshops re-create rural life from that time. The collection of early artifacts is augmented by a blacksmith shop, general store, and other original structures.
At the outbreak of the Civil War young men from Cooperstown were among northerners who volunteered to serve in the Union Army. Numerous re-enactments today recall battles of the War Between the States, some in locales that may come as a surprise.
Did you know that Civil War skirmishes took place in Florida, Arkansas, and Oklahoma? They were among battles that prompted Northern authorities to question the wisdom of involving their troops in what they considered to be states of relatively little military importance.
“This experience isn’t for everyone.” Those words of caution refer to Follow the North Star, a participatory program offered at the Conner Prairie history park in Indianapolis. It transports participants back to 1836 as they play the role of escaped slaves following the Underground Railroad north to what they hope will be their freedom.
