I always like museums like this—they show how ordinary people used to live.
Way back in 1630, an English naval officer named Walter Neale formed a small community on the Piscataqua River in New England. Because the place had abundant wild strawberries, he named it “Strawbery Banke” (sic—that is not a typo). The center of the settlement was a natural waterway that became known as Puddle Dock. The little town that sprouted around Puddle Dock grew, and continued to expand even after the Puddle Dock waterway was filled in and built over. Today it is Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
In 1958, plans were being made to tear down the old buildings in Strawbery Banke, some of them over 300 years old, as part of an “urban renewal” project. Instead, local organizations raised enough money to buy the entire neighborhood, restore the buildings, and open it as a historical park. Today there are 36 historic buildings at the museum—all but four are on their original sites. They have each been restored to a particular year between 1695 and 1950. There are also re-enactors and living history displays.
Some photos from a visit.