Old Bethpage, 1303 Round Swamp Road (Exit 48 of the Long Island Expressway)

516-572-8400

Open: Hours are 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Wednesday - Friday and 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Saturday - Sunday.

Museum Admission: $10, adults; $7, children 5 - 12 (under 5 are free); and $7, seniors, volunteer firefighters.

Please note that there are separate admission charges for the Long Island Fair (October 1-4) as follows: $12, adults; $8, children 5 - 12 (under 5 are free); and $8, seniors, volunteer firefighters. Read more about the Long Island Fair under "News & Events" below.

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Civil War re-enactments are a regular attraction at Old Bethpage Village Restoration. Shown here is the Company "E" of the 14th Brooklyn Regiment, remembered for its unique variation of the French Chasseurs uniform.

Exploring Long Island's 19th-Century Living History Museum

The Manetto Hill Church (top), dating to 1857, and the Long Island Fair Exhibit Hall (above) are two of the dozens of buildings at OBVR.

OLD BETHPAGE VILLAGE RESTORATION provides visitors with a unique and wonderful opportunity to step back in time and experience life in a recreated mid-19th-century American village. The 209-acre village includes an assortment of homes, farms and businesses.

Each fall, the village hosts the Long Island Fair, a traditional county agricultural fair that draws tens of thousands of visitors, and through most of the year the village supports a steady series of family-friendly events and exhibits, including old-time "base ball" tournaments.

Old Bethpage Village Restoration (OBVR) came into existence in 1963, when Nassau County acquired the Powell property, a 165-acre farm located on the Nassau-Suffolk border. The acquisition of the land and the plan to develop a historic restoration were timely, as rapid post-World War II development on Long Island had taken a toll on the area's landmarks.

Although OBVR never existed as an historic entity, it represents a typical rural Long Island farm village of the mid-19th century — one whose roots can actually be found in the earlier Dutch and English settlement of Long Island.

During the 1640s, the colonial settlers founded town "spots" throughout the region that functioned as commerical and social centers where taverns, general stores and meeting houses were built. Townsmen received a centrally located town lot as well as outlying fields to use for grazing livestock, growing crops or havesting firewood.

By 1700, the English had gained control of Long Island, townships controlled whatever land had not already been distributed, and the economy had expanded to include trades dependent on the sea and land. Life remained quiet, unhurried and closely tied to nature — patterns that were evident until well into the 19th century and that can be experienced at OBVR.

IN 1963, PLAINVIEW'S HISTORIC MANETTO HILL METHODIST CHURCH was the first structure to be saved and moved to the Powell property. Today, there are 51 historic buildings and seven reconstructions and the site encompasses 209 acres. Buildings were selected based on their architectural detail and historic significance, with the goal of establishing a representative sampling of historic structures.

After buildings were moved to the village, they were carefully restored to a specific point in their history, and the lives of the former occupants thoroughly researched. Each structure has been scrutinized for clues to its role in community life, and authentic hardware, shingles and glass sought — with the help of wills, deeds, and inventory lists — so the structures could be authentically furnished (in some cases with pieces original to the building).

Among the historic buildings is the Schenck House, built around 1730 and one of the oldest Dutch farmhouses remaining in the U.S. The house displays typical massive Dutch framing, particularly on the first floor ceiling joists, which span 32 feet. Other notable features include a side gabled roof with flared eaves, round butt shingles, heavy window sash, and a massive stone jambless fireplace.

Another is the Benjamin House, built in 1829 by William F. Benjamin, a Congregational minister, farmer and pastor to the Shinnecock and Poosepatuck Native American tribes. (One of Benjaman's brothers, Simeon, wasa prominent merchant and a founder of Elmira College, the first institution of higher learning for women.) The Benjamin House was constructed in the late Federal country style and its furnishings reflect the lifestyle of this relatively affluent farmer and respected minister.

Visit Old Bethpage Village to see these buildings and others and allow yourself to be transported into an earlier time in the history of Long Island and New York.

Sundays, September 6, 13, 20 & 27
1864 & 1884 "Base Ball"

Saturday - Sunday, September 5 - 6
Olde Time Music Weekend & "Base Ball"

Sunday, September 13
Brass Sextet Concerts

Thursday - Sunday, October 1 - 4

•  Long Island Fair  • (see information below)

Saturday - Sunday, October 10 - 11

Brass Band Concerts

Sunday, October 11

Traditional American Contra-Dancing

Friday - Sunday, Oct. 16 - 18; Friday - Sunday, Oct. 23 - 25; Wednesday - Sunday, October 28 - 31
"Long Island Fear Festival"

Sunday, October 17 - 18
Salute to the American Fighting Soldier

Saturday - Sunday, October 24 - 25
Haunted 1880 Long Island Halloween

Saturday, October 31
Haunted 1880 Long Island Halloween

Sunday, November 1
Election Rally Featuring Teddy Roosevelt

Saturday - Sunday, November 21 - 22
1863 Long Island Thanksgiving Holiday (see information below)

Saturday - Sunday, November 28 - 29
1863 Long Island Thanksgiving Holiday (see information below)

Saturday - Sunday, December 19 - 20
Candlelight Evenings (open 5 - 9:30 p.m.)

Saturday - Wednesday, December 26 - 30
Candlelight Evenings (open 5 - 9:30 p.m.)

Old Bethpage Village Celebrates "1863 Thanksgiving" Over Two Weekends

Old Bethpage Village Restoration (OBVR) will celebrate an “1863 Thanksgiving” over two successive weekends November 21 - 22 and November 28 - 29 from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., announced Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi.

Visitors to the recreated 19th-century village will be able to enjoy the sights and smells of an old-fashioned Thanksgiving, as wood-burning stoves, beehive stoves, beehive ovens and hearths are used to prepare foods and baked goods made from 19th-century recipes. The culinary exhibits include the “spitting” and roasting of turkey in a tin reflector oven beside the Williams House hearth and preparation of pies at the Powell House. OBVR will also display 19th-century methods of food preservation employed for late fall crops.

In addition, each afternoon, historical period music will be played while at the Noon Inn, children’s stories will be read several times each day.

“This program, which is itself a tradition at Old Bethpage Village, is a wonderful way for Long Islanders to connect with 19th-century American culture during one of our most significant national holidays,” says Jim McKenna, OBVR site director and curator.

"This Old House" Pays a Visit to an Old Long Island Village

The popular home-improvement series "This Old House" paid a visit to historic Old Bethpage Village Restoration on August 7 to see how things were built nearly three centuries ago, in preparation for one of its episodes this fall.

"This Old House" host Kevin O'Connor, joined by architecture writer Russell Versaci and a film crew, spent three hours at the Village looking over the historic Schenck House, one of the oldest Dutch farmhouses remaining in the U.S. As such, the property was of interest to the show's producers, who are engaged in the renovation of a 1915 Dutch Colonial home in the Boston suburb of Newton Centre that will be the focus of several "This Old House" shows beginning October 8.

Versaci, who provided a tour for O'Connor, is an architect and writer who featured the Schenck House in one of his books, "Roots of Home." In exploring the Schenck House, Versaci covered the exterior and interior of the home and focused on such unique design aspects as the round butt shingles, the gabled roof with flared eaves, the heavy beams with "H" construction, and the massive stone jambless fireplace.

Built around 1730, the Schenck House displays typical massive Dutch framing, particularly on the first-floor ceiling joists, which span 32 feet. The home was originally situated in the area now constituting Manhasset and is the only authentic Dutch-style home at Old Bethpage, although other buildings in the Village have features drawn from that style of architecture. The home was originally occupied by Dutch farmer Minne Schenck, his three daughters and one son. The son, Martin, inherited the farm upon his father's death in 1767 at the age of 67.

“We were very pleased to host the visit by ‘This Old House' to Old Bethpage Village, which provides a truly unique opportunity for the public to enjoy a living history museum, including the architecture that was prevalent on Long Island and in the nation in the 18th and 19th centuries,” says Deputy County Executive Ian Siegel. “We look forward to the show airing in the fall so that more people in the metropolitan area can learn about this wonderful property and come out to experience it firsthand.”

In the New York City-Nassau County area, "This Old House" can be seen on public stations such as Channel 13 and 21.