Old Bethpage Village Restoration — Attraction in Town of Oyster Bay

I really didn't expect to enjoy it this much but it was really nice! We went for the music festival which was lovely, just sad to see how few people were there. Our kids (6 & 8) really enjoyed it, also more than expected. There are so many houses and businesses to see. So many interesting artifacts to help understand how vastly different life used to be. Great way to teach gratitude.

The docent at the Conklin House was terrific, just very knowledgeable and friendly. Everyone else was also very friendly and the musicians were very talented. We should've alloted like 3-4 hours to really take it all in, but since we only had half that, we look forward to going back soon!

My only wishes/suggestions are this: a period dress shop, even without an actual dressmaker, this would definitely be a money maker, ESPECIALLY if they had little girls' dresses & bonnets, small jewelry selection a bakery with pies, breads, scones, muffins and typical sweets of the era plus coffee & tea a bigger selection of hats, including kids hats, even if they weren't all made by the hatter an all-year holiday shop with vintage-style Halloween, Christmas, Channuka, and Easter decorations, quilts, plates, serving dishes, small home goods a curiosity shop with vintage-style goods, both made by local craftspeople and from around the world, with a vintage toy selection a men's shop with coats, trousers, shirts, boys' outfits (PEOPLE LOVE COSPLAY) while there were some veggies for sale, a real farmstand would be great an art gallery to display paintings, photographs, crafts, magazines, illustrated books, newspapers, maps, etc from this period a bank to see the money of the period, a display to educate about the disparity between the poor, middle class, and the wealthy, information about what goods cost at the time a display discussing the population history of Long Island: slavery, freed people, immigration, women's rights at the time would be really helpful is there a jail? a printing press? a bookbinder? GLASSBLOWING! lastly, MORE MUSIC! Maybe these things are offered and we just didn't get to see them. Maybe the place is usually better attended. I just feel like it's a hidden gem, but it could also be a lot more fun and the increased revenue supplied through more retail could allow them to reduce the admission which wasn't cheap: $54 for 2 adults plus 2 kids. People love to eat, drink, shop, play games, cosplay. A monthly adults-only event where more actors are employed to make it a really immersive experience, doing improvisational comedy while mingling with the patrons for a barn dance or saloon night with live music & drinks would be great! Contra dance lessons, axe-throwing or just a chance to chop wood to let off some steam would be cool. Even regular needlepoint, hand-sewing, knitting, and crochet classes would be awesome! I bet the people working there have even better ideas, but I'm wondering if the ownership by Nassau County limits OBVR's potential. If there's ever an opportunity to work on some of these ideas, please contact me! Many thanks to everyone who...

I had the opportunity to visit Old Bethpage Village Restoration for their candlelight evenings celebrating the Christmas season. I hadn't heard of this place until very recently; this was my first time visiting, but definitely not my last.

For this event in particular, Old Bethpage Village did a fantastic job at making you feel like you were wandering through the village as if you were back in time. The candlelight event in particular was so cozy, and I absolutely loved seeing the historic homes on the property in that perspective. The kindling fire in some of the homes, the treats (ginger snaps, popcorn, candy sticks, and apple cider), the large fire pit you can sit close to, seeing Santa! It was a well thought out, put together event and I had so much fun.

I would say the highlight of my night was sitting by the large fire outside of one of the houses while enjoying my ginger snaps and cider. But also, don't forget to check out their exhibit in the main building upon entering - they have a cute penny press machine, and some really fun things to learn about the Village as well.

I visited on a Saturday, so during the weekend, but I got there by 5:00 pm which gave me plenty of time to explore all of the houses and walk the trail. There are bathrooms in the main building, but none that I saw in the homes themselves. There is a small gift "shoppe" with handmade gifts and some Old Bethpage Village...

Old Bethpage Village Restoration has several structures that are preserved from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In most buildings, there is a period- dressed person who will tell you about the history of the structure, when and where it is from, who lived or worked there, and what it was like back then. Upon entering the visitor's center, visitors are provided with maps and can guide themselves from structure to structure. Most of the structures are houses, but there are also stores, an inn, a hatter, schoolhouse, blacksmith, and farm. One time I visited, the hatter was in and making hats, while during my most recent visit (a trip for my 4 th grade students), we were treated with a demonstration given by the blacksmith. It was fascinating. Old Bethpage Village Restoration also has an events calendar which is worth...