Old Bedford Village — Attraction in Bedford Township

We visited on a Thursday. Not very crowded, which I love. I’m gonna give you my feedback as a parent who had a 10, 11 and 13 year old with them. You can pay admission using a cc but once you’re in the village it’s all cash. This wasn’t my fav and having a couple of phones with square pay on them would def make for a happier and easier user experience. My oldest made a pie safe door design using a mallet and nail. Very cool. Younger two fed chickens, panned for “gold” and ran around in the diff buildings. The buildings each have short YouTube videos that you can watch to tell you more about each building- which was cool too. Blacksmith is a full time blacksmith, but also not the most friendly. Our boys came into the building and he told them they had to leave if they didn’t have an adult. Now, I’m all in on safety, but there was a barrier and all this direction of scolding did was disengage my kids from this part of the village. I understand why adults do this but I don’t think it’s helpful. There are kind ways to give that info- he def didn’t do it that way and when I offered to go back in with my kids they said no. Lost opportunity :( then we went to the gift shop. Unfortunately, it made me unhappy. There was a ton of confederate stuff. Why? Pa was Union. My ancestor was a Union soldier. I don’t want confederate stuff being sold to me in that place, it just feels racist honestly. So, that was the impression I left with- confederate cash, confederate flags, confederate soldier kits. I mean they had a union flag and a union solider kit too but I’m just sayin I wouldn’t show up at the pitt store and expect to be able to buy Penn state gear. Full stop. So, I’d go again but I hope a decision maker reads this and considers what message they send with these items...

This is my second time here in about 6 years. I love that this village is very clean and there is something to see in every cabin. Both times I visited, only some cabins have demonstration. If I were to visit them all and watch and learn from the demonstrations, I could spend hours here. I brought my dogs here for a walk on our way to Erie, and didn't have time to see all the demonstrations. The lady at the visitors center is so friendly, helpful, thoughtful (offered to hold my dogs while to stop in the restroom) and informative. She answered all my questions, and even offered my pups some treats and loving. I really enjoyed this village. I will come back again and watch some more demonstrations. So far I have seen a total of 5 demonstrations during my 2 visits. My favorite part are the goats and the horses. I love animals and the goats spotted my pups in a distance and were watching them. You can find them in the pics. So...

We spent 2 hours walking through the village. Plenty of parking. We got a map when we got our tickets. Flushing toilets available at the visitor center and inside the village next to the church. There were plenty of picnic tables for those who want to pack lunch. There is a general store inside the village.

Some of the buildings have reenactors while some others do not. Only one family at a time allowed per building. We visited during the Reenactment of the French and Indian war. I was expecting to see more reenactors but we only saw 4 soldiers with a captain and a group of 3 reenactors hunters/trappers.

They offer hayrides (included in the entrance fee). There is a horse and goats. The broom maker is a man full of energy. He made making a broom fun. The blacksmith enjoyed doing his work quietly not a word to us or even acknowledgement that we were there.

You can...