Celebrate craftsmanship and all things handmade! During Textiles and Trades Weekend, the Village’s craftspeople will showcase their skills by crafting more complicated or unique items not usually displayed in the Village. Highlights include:

• Watch a barrel firing demonstration at the Cooper Shop
• Visit with the New England Lace Makers group and learn about the intricate process of making lace
• See a demonstration of pit firing, a pottery technique that dates back to ancient times
• Take a tour of the Herb Garden and learn about various plants that were used in textiles as dyes, fibers, and fragrance
• View artifacts related to historical clothing and trades from the OSV Museum Collection
• See progress on piecing a quilt top made from old clothing
• Watch the water-powered Carding Mill in action
• And more!

One of the highlights of the coming weekend is our annual kiln firing. Firing the kiln at Old Sturbridge Village is no simple task. It must be heated to a whopping 1900 degrees Fahrenheit over the course of more than 24 hours. This can take about three cords of wood!

Did You Know?

The kiln at the Village is a replica based on archaeological research at the original site of Hervey Brooks’ Pottery Shop and kiln in Goshen, CT and pictures of similar kilns from the early 1800s. It stands 24 feet tall and contains approximately 15,000 bricks.

Firing the kiln is a lot of work and requires a lot of wood. It must be heated to 1900 degrees Fahrenheit over the course of more than 24 hours. Hervey Brooks, who owned and operated the Pottery Shop now at Old Sturbridge Village, burned his last kiln in 1864 at 85 years old.