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Show travel 5-star guide to 5 historic villages JULY FOURTH.Whatbetter timeto see ifhistory can come buildings,starring guides (“interpreters”) wholive, dress andtalk alive? We judged for ourselves at the nation’s five most visited “historic villages” — sites that re-create the past with restored like Pilgrims, colonialists or sailors. Travel editor John Butterfield rates the villages for history, crafts, entertainment and value. Era: Virginia colony’s capital, circa 1770. 88 original buildings; 50 major reconstructions; 40 exhib- Era: New England seafaring town of the 1850s. Historic ships and buildings gath- Skip: The yachting exhibit in the Mallory Building. See the real thing: the racing ered from the the region’s Atlantic coast. yachtBrilliant (1932), all gleaming mahogany and weathered teak. Rating, Wk Wk He ¥ ition buildings; and Carter’s Grove plantation, eight miles Not manyinterpreters, but the modern-era guides know their stuff. The fully stocked southeast on the JamesRiver. shops and furnished homescreate theeerie Rating. %* Hk Hk %& illusion that the townspeople abandoned Classy and believable. Actors in period garb play their roles with deadpan earnestness. (A question about the Revolutionary War, for instance, draws a blankstare, be- . inatbexn Te nea 7 BaaoaksRILGA cee Ue OOO ship and slipped away. Don’t miss: The two-masted ship Australia (circa 1862). Its melancholy hulk, too far goneforrestoration,reflects past glory. What Captain Ahab would think: He would be broken-hearted that the venerable Charles W. Morgan (1841) is the last wooden American whalerafloat. Mystic Seaport Museum, 50 Greenmanville Ave., Mystic, Conn. 06355-0990. Summer hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (the grounds close at 6 p.m.). Tickets: adults, $14.50; children 6-15, $8.75. For more information: 203-572-0711. causeit “hasn’t happenedyet.’’) Don’t miss: The free, hour-long tour (tickets are required) — it’s the only time a guide delivers a 20th-century perspective. Be sure to make the trek down to Carter’s Grove, where re-created slave Era: A re-creation ofthe original Pilgrim settlement, circa 1627, with the nearby encampment of the Wampanoag Indians. A full-scale replica of quarters open a sobering window on the South’spast. Skip: The 35-minute movie Wil- the Mayflower floats dockside in liamsburg: The Story of a Patriot, This town is the best ofthe five at with Jack Lord (!) as a Colonial re-creating its era; the “Pilgrims” even speak in the accents of 17thcentury Great Britain. Butlife was hard and dull in Plimoth. Anditstill feels that way today. Don’t miss: The Indian encampment. Guides explain how the Indians and aristocrat. Hollywooded junk. What Thomas Jefferson might think: The old town has been lovingly preserved, yet suffers from being too close to an ersatz-Colonial ’ modern shopping district. Colonial Williamsburg, Williamsburg, Va. 23187-1776. Summer hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (some buildings stay open until 7 p.m.). Tickets: adults, $23$28; children 6-12, $13.75-$17. For more information: 804-220-7645. modern-day downtown Plymouth. Rating: 1% *& *& Pilgrims coexisted — and clashed. _ iY v, 4 4 / ler - ? ¥ ay , i "y | A 4 the phrase “tourist trap.” Performers on the African Ametica FY tour in Colonial Willianishury 18 USA WEEKEND * June 26-28, 1992 split-rail fences lend realism. Few explanatory signs, so you mustinteract with the guides. Don’t miss: The skilled, talkative artisans: shoemakers, potters, wool carders, weavers, millers, dyers, cooks,printers, cider makers ... Skip: Clock exhibit; just for hard-core buffs. What Nathaniel Hawthorne might think: He’d give it an “A” (not scarlet). The interpreters, with their rock-ribbed local speech,pull off theillusion. Old Sturbridge Village, 1 Old Sturbridge Village Rd., Sturbridge, Mass. 01566. Summer hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tickets: adults, $14; children 6-15, $7. For more information: 508-347-3362. Era: A potpourri, from a 1610 stone English cottage to early-20thcentury factories. See Thomas Edison’s real lab, brought from Menlo Park, N.J., and the Wright Bro- Skip: The Henry Ford Museum. Part ofit is only a dusty collection, now undergoing renovation. What Henry Ford might think: He’d be 1620, Plymouth, Mass. 02360. The Rating ke %& pleased that Americancars still outnumberimports in the parking lot — even if this is Greater Detroit. Mayflower II is on the waterfront in Too manyeras; too few interpreters. Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Plimoth Plantation, Route 3, P.O. Box downtown Plymouth, three miles up the iL Woodedsetting, rocky streets and stone and Skip: Well, you can’t really skip seeing the MayflowerII. But be prepared: Its surroundings in Plymouth define What Myles Standish might think: He would likely feel right at homeat the old settlement, but be ready to return to England if he saw modern Plymouth. fb Era: Rural New Englandvillage of the 1830s. Rating 1 Ke H&K coast. Summer hours: 9 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Tickets: adults $5.50-$17; children 5-12, $3.75-$11. For more information: 508-746-1622. thers’ Dayton, Ohio, workshop. Don’t miss: The smithy at the Cots- wold forge (circa 1600). A single iron nail cost the average worker in those days a week’s wages. Village, 20900 Oakwood Blvd., Dearborn, Mich. 48121-1970. Summer hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tickets: adults, $11.50$20; children 5-12, $5.75-$10. For more information: 1-800-343-1929. wA five-star rating wastops. | |