Ohio Village

Two weeks ago I visited the Ohio Village to see some friends, Brooke and Ely, who are volunteering as costumed interpreters, Kitty and Jasper, this summer.  The Ohio Village is a Civil War era town, located next to the Ohio History Center.  

I love historical towns and villages like this - I remember visiting one in Indiana with my family when I was a kid and thinking it was the coolest thing!  It's like stepping back in time, without having to find a TARDIS, DeLorean, or other time machine!  I didn't have a lot of time to explore, as I was meeting family on the OSU campus for lunch, but I did have time to wander through the town for a short while, despite the light summer drizzle.

The town was very peaceful, almost sleepy.  I didn't see very many people, visitors or costumed interpreters, but I didn't mind.  It was nice to just walk around on my own for a while.  I visited on July 5th and the town was still decked out with 4th of July decorations.  I'm not a big fan of fireworks so I don't usually get very excited about the 4th, but the simple red, white and blue banners were nice and festive.

I loved the historical vegetable garden - complete with a list of the heirloom vegetables being grown this year!  Little details like this, making sure that the vegetables being grown in the garden are ones that may have been grown in a town like this in the 1860s, the church table with donations from The Ladies Benevolent Society to help the poor, open books or partially finished paintings left on the table, these little bits and pieces of town life made the village feel real to me.  

After wandering through the village for about thirty minutes on my own, I was able to find Brooke and check out her awesome costume!  She is in the natural history museum and was able to tell me a little about the museum and her character.  We chatted for a while before I had to leave to make it to the OSU campus on time.  Ely was visiting with other volunteers so I didn't get to see him - maybe next time!    

I will definitely have to come back to the Ohio Village, I didn't give myself enough time to explore on this first visit! There are several fun looking events coming up at the village, including Halloween and Christmas themed events later in the year.  The next time I go I will have to bring Kenneth, maybe we will use the cards and costumes to interact with the interpreters as if we were also people from the village - it looks like it'd be a lot of fun!