© 2008 Rourke Publishing LLC All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher. www.rourkepublishing.com PHOTO CREDITS: All photos © Lynn M. Stone Editor: Robert Stengard-Olliges
Table of Contents
Cover design by Michelle Moore imprint TK Dedication: The publisher wishes to thank Paula Locklair, Vice President Education Planning; John Caramia, Vice President Education; Peggy Parks, Director Children’s Museum, Old Salem, Winston-Salem, NC, for their expertise in the preparation of this book.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Gillis, Jennifer Blizin, 1950Restored villages / Jennifer Blizin Gillis. p. cm. -- (Field trips) Includes index. ISBN 978-1-60044-563-7 1. Historic sites--United States--Juvenile literature. 2. Villages--United States--Juvenile literature. 3. City and town life--United States--Juvenile literature. 4. Historical reenactments--United States--Juvenile literature. 5. United States--Social life and customs--Juvenile literature. 6. United States--History, Local--Juvenile literature. I. Title. E159.G53 2008 973.0973'2--dc22 2007017258 Printed in the USA CG/CG
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Welcome to the Past Who Will You Meet? Interpreters Living Clothing Cooking Learning Shopping Jobs Villages to Visit Glossary Index
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Welcome to the Past Have you ever wanted to see what life was like long ago? Visiting a historic village is like stepping into a time machine. These are places that have been rebuilt to look just as they did hundreds of years ago. During your visit, you will see how the people who lived there lived, worked, dressed, and ate.
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A Wampanoag Indian burns out a dugout canoe (Plimoth Plantation,Massachusetts).
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Welcome to the Past Have you ever wanted to see what life was like long ago? Visiting a historic village is like stepping into a time machine. These are places that have been rebuilt to look just as they did hundreds of years ago. During your visit, you will see how the people who lived there lived, worked, dressed, and ate.
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A Wampanoag Indian burns out a dugout canoe (Plimoth Plantation,Massachusetts).
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Who Will You Meet? When you first arrive, you may go to a visitors’ center. You may see pictures of parts of the village or watch a short movie. An educator may meet you and tell you a little about your day. He or she may be wearing old-fashioned clothes. The educator will walk through the village with you and explain what you see.
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An educator at Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia.
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Who Will You Meet? When you first arrive, you may go to a visitors’ center. You may see pictures of parts of the village or watch a short movie. An educator may meet you and tell you a little about your day. He or she may be wearing old-fashioned clothes. The educator will walk through the village with you and explain what you see.
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An educator at Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia.
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Interpreters In the village, you will see more people wearing old-fashioned clothes. These are interpreters. They spend each day living the way people did hundreds of years ago. Interpreters must know a lot about life in the past so they can explain it to visitors.
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Interpreters at Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia.
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Interpreters In the village, you will see more people wearing old-fashioned clothes. These are interpreters. They spend each day living the way people did hundreds of years ago. Interpreters must know a lot about life in the past so they can explain it to visitors.
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Interpreters at Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia.
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Living You will visit homes that may be made of brick, with several stories and many windows. Other homes may be made of logs, with low ceilings, few windows, and just one or two rooms. Interpreters will explain who lived in these houses and why. They will show you the kinds of beds people slept in, the kinds of dishes they used, and the things they did in their homes.
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Interpreters explain the villages’ old homes (Conner Prairie, Indiana).
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Living You will visit homes that may be made of brick, with several stories and many windows. Other homes may be made of logs, with low ceilings, few windows, and just one or two rooms. Interpreters will explain who lived in these houses and why. They will show you the kinds of beds people slept in, the kinds of dishes they used, and the things they did in their homes.
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Interpreters explain the villages’ old homes (Conner Prairie, Indiana).
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Clothing In the past it took a long time to make clothes, so people had only a few outfits. You may recognize some of the clothes you see, but some types of clothes don’t exist today. Interpreters may show you how people carded and spun wool and then wove it into cloth. You may also see how hats were made and learn why people in the past wore them.
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Interpreters dress as a wealthy Colonial couple (Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia).
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Clothing In the past it took a long time to make clothes, so people had only a few outfits. You may recognize some of the clothes you see, but some types of clothes don’t exist today. Interpreters may show you how people carded and spun wool and then wove it into cloth. You may also see how hats were made and learn why people in the past wore them.
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Interpreters dress as a wealthy Colonial couple (Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia).
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Cooking People in the past did not have electric refrigerators or stoves. You will learn how they stored their food and what they did to preserve it. Interpreters will show you how people cooked on woodstoves, in fireplaces, or on open fires. You may get to taste a dish that people often ate long ago.
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A cook stirs the stew on an open fire (Greenfield Village, Michigan).
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Cooking People in the past did not have electric refrigerators or stoves. You will learn how they stored their food and what they did to preserve it. Interpreters will show you how people cooked on woodstoves, in fireplaces, or on open fires. You may get to taste a dish that people often ate long ago.
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A cook stirs the stew on an open fire (Greenfield Village, Michigan).
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Learning Children long ago had to learn to read, write, and do math just like you do. Their schools were very different, though. You may see a schoolroom in the village. Instead of a large blackboard, there may be small slates for students to write on. The students’ desks may be long tables. Instead of chairs, there may only be long, narrow benches for the students to sit on.
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An old one-room schoolhouse in St. Augustine, Florida.
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Learning Children long ago had to learn to read, write, and do math just like you do. Their schools were very different, though. You may see a schoolroom in the village. Instead of a large blackboard, there may be small slates for students to write on. The students’ desks may be long tables. Instead of chairs, there may only be long, narrow benches for the students to sit on.
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An old one-room schoolhouse in St. Augustine, Florida.
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Shopping When you visit some of the village shops, you may be surprised to see how small they are. Most things were made to order, so there were fewer things on display. Bakeries looked and smelled much as they do today, with piles of cookies and breads. The wood-fired oven may be the only difference!
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A Shoemaker’s shop in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia.
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Shopping When you visit some of the village shops, you may be surprised to see how small they are. Most things were made to order, so there were fewer things on display. Bakeries looked and smelled much as they do today, with piles of cookies and breads. The wood-fired oven may be the only difference!
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A Shoemaker’s shop in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia.
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Jobs Many people in the past had jobs making things. Some people even got their last names from their jobs. “Tom Cooper” meant “Tom the barrel maker.” “Jack Smith” might mean someone who made things from metal. Tinsmiths and blacksmiths were important people in the past.
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Milliners made hats for people.
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Jobs Many people in the past had jobs making things. Some people even got their last names from their jobs. “Tom Cooper” meant “Tom the barrel maker.” “Jack Smith” might mean someone who made things from metal. Tinsmiths and blacksmiths were important people in the past.
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Milliners made hats for people.
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Villages to Visit Carmel Mission, CA www.carmelmission.org
Glossary carded (KARD ed) — pieces of wool gathered together before spinning
Colonial Williamsburg, VA www.history.org Conner Prairie, IN www.connerprairie.org
educator (EJ you kate r) — person at a museum, planetarium, or other public place who teaches people about the exhibits
Greenfield Village, MI www.jfmgv.org
historic (hi STOR ik) — famous or important in history
Jamestown, VA www.apva.org/history/index/html
interpreters (in TER pruh tur) — people who explain the meaning of things
Old Bethpage Village, NY www.oldbethpage.org/info_directions.htm
preserve (PREE zerv) — to can, pickle, or prepare food for future use
Old Sturbridge Village, MA www.osv.org
slates (SLAYTZ) — a tablet to write on, made of a kind of rock
Plimoth Plantation, MA www.plimoth.org
smith (SMITH) — originally, a name given to someone who worked with metal. Later it became a person’s last name
St. Augustine, FL www.staugustinehistoricalsociety.org Salem, MA www.salemweb.com
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stories (STOR eez) — the number of floors in a building
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Villages to Visit Carmel Mission, CA www.carmelmission.org
Glossary carded (KARD ed) — pieces of wool gathered together before spinning
Colonial Williamsburg, VA www.history.org Conner Prairie, IN www.connerprairie.org
educator (EJ you kate r) — person at a museum, planetarium, or other public place who teaches people about the exhibits
Greenfield Village, MI www.jfmgv.org
historic (hi STOR ik) — famous or important in history
Jamestown, VA www.apva.org/history/index/html
interpreters (in TER pruh tur) — people who explain the meaning of things
Old Bethpage Village, NY www.oldbethpage.org/info_directions.htm
preserve (PREE zerv) — to can, pickle, or prepare food for future use
Old Sturbridge Village, MA www.osv.org
slates (SLAYTZ) — a tablet to write on, made of a kind of rock
Plimoth Plantation, MA www.plimoth.org
smith (SMITH) — originally, a name given to someone who worked with metal. Later it became a person’s last name
St. Augustine, FL www.staugustinehistoricalsociety.org Salem, MA www.salemweb.com
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stories (STOR eez) — the number of floors in a building
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Index interpreters 8, 10, 12, 14 schools 16 shops 18 tinsmiths 20 visitors’ center 6
bakeries 18 blacksmiths 20 clothes 6, 8, 12 cooking 14 educator 6 homes 10
Further Reading McNeese, Tim. Williamsburg. Chelsea House Publishers, 2007. Tracy, Kathleen. Plymouth Colony: The Pilgrims Settle in New England. Mitchell Lane Publishing, 2007.
Websites to Visit www.history.org www.plimoth.org www.osv.org
About the Author Jennifer B. Gillis is an author and editor of nonfiction books and poetry for children. A graduate of Gilford College in North Carolina, she has taught foreign language and social studies in North Carolina, Virginia, and Illinois.
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