Old Bethpage, Round Swamp Road (Exit 48 of the Long Island Expressway)
516-572-8400
Open: Wednesday - Friday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.; Saturday - Sunday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.; beginning November 1, hours will shift to 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., Wednesday - Sunday.

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

The Village, which closed for the winter on December 31, 2007, reopened on March 1, 2008.

Civil War re-enactments are a regular attraction at Old Bethpage Village Restoration

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 October, 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 has a steady series of family-friendly events and exhibits, including old-time baseball tournaments.

Old Bethpage Village Restoration 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 development on Long Island had taken its toll on the area's landmarks.

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 are selected based on their architectural detail and historic significance. The goal is to establish a representative sampling of 19th-century structures.

After buildings have been moved to the village, they are carefully restored to a specific point in their history, and the lives

of the former occupants are thoroughly researched. Each structure is 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 can beauthentically furnished ( in some cases with pieces original to the building).

But the roots of Old Bethpage Village date back even further than the 19th century to the Dutch and English settlement of Long Island. During the 1640s, the colonial settlers in this area founded town "spots" that functioned as commercial and social centers where taverns, general stores and meeting houses were built. In addition to a centrally located town lot, each townsman received outlying fields to use for grazing livestock, growing crops, or harvesting firewood.

By 1700, when 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 as well as the land. Life remained quiet, unhurried and closely tied to nature. These patterns, evident well well into the 19th century, can be seen at Old Bethpage Restoration.

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Saturday - Sunday, March 1 - 2

National Pig Day Celebration

Sunday , March 9, 16

An 1880 St. Patrick's Day Celebration, Limerick Contest & Irish Music

Sunday, April 5, 6

14th Brooklyn Militia Training Camp

Sunday, April 6, 13, 20 & 27

History Alive! Hands-On History (see information below)

Saturday, April 12

Long Island Rabbit Show

Sunday, May 4, 11 & 18

History Alive! Hands-On History

Saturday, May 17

Civil War Picket Post: Behind the Lines (see information below)

Sunday, May 18

Traditional Contra Dancing (see information below)

Saturday - Monday, May 24, 25 & 26

Sheep to Shawl: Music & "Base Ball"

Monday, May 26

An 1870 Decoration Day

Sunday, June 1 (Rain Date: June 8)

Huntington Militia Drill & Encampment

Sunday, June 8 (Rain Date: June 22)

Model "A" Ford Show on the Fairgrounds

Sunday, June 8 & 22

Brass Band Concerts

Sunday, June 29

Traditional Contra Dancing

Old Bethpage Restoration Recreates 1864 Civil War "Picket Post" on May 17

The 119th New York Volunteers and other living history organizations will congregate at Old Bethpage Village Restoration (OVBR) on Saturday, May 17, to recreate a Civil War incident in Spotsylvania, Virginia, that took place on the same date in 1864, when elements of the 6th New Hampshire and 26th Georgia faced each other during a lull in fighting. The event takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., announced Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi.

The event involves soldiers from Union and Confederate infantry regiments setting up opposing outposts, or “picket posts,” the term commonly used by soldiers of the time. The purpose of an outpost was to secure an army against a surprise attack, with pickets or soldiers well in front of and surrounding their main camps. In the event of an attack, the guards were commanded to fire their weapons or send messages to the main guard post in order to rally the troops.

The event at OBVR does not involve a battle; rather, it involves what was a fairly common nonviolent encounter between Union and Confederate troops.

“It’s said that troops on outpost duty would often trade items like good Southern tobacco for some much-prized Northern coffee beans or even exchange newspapers,” says OBVR Site Director and Curator Jim McKenna. “But be warned that there will be some hostile encounters throughout the day as the officers maneuver their patrols to better positions.”

The event is hosted by Company H, 119th New York Volunteer Historical Association, an organization dedicated to the preservation of Civil War history.

Old Bethpage Village Restoration Presents Traditional 19th-Century Dancing on May 18

In the 19th century, a popular form of entertainment involved listening to fiddle tunes and dancing to the calls of the local dance-master. On Sunday, May18, from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., visitors to Old Bethpage Village Restoration (OVBR) will be able to enjoy a recreation of this slice of 19th-century American culture through a performance by the Old Bethpage Village Dancers, announced Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi. The event will take place in the Noon Inn PicNic Grove.

The Old Bethpage Village Dancers is a group of dedicated volunteers who practice a variety of contradances, quadrilles and reels and perform on a regular basis at OBVR. On May 18, the performers, in mid-19th-century attire, will demonstrate such dances as the Jefferson and Liberty, the Lancer’s Quadrille, and the Virginia Reel. The group will be called by accomplished dance-master Chart Guthrie.

“This is a great opportunity for the public to enjoy a traditional form of 19th-century entertainment as interpreted by a very accomplished group of performers,” says OBVR Site Director and Curator Jim McKenna. “We also encourage members of the public to take part in the festivities by joining with the Old Bethpage Village Dancers and learning the gracious art of traditional American dance.”

Old Bethpage Village Presents "History Alive!" Children's Program in April and May

Parents and children can both try their hand at managing the everyday chores of 19th-century life, as part of the “History Alive! Hands-On History” program at Old Bethpage Village Restoration (OBVR), announced Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi.

The program runs on Sundays in April and May through May 18 from noon to 4 p.m.

As part of the program, children and their parents or accompanying adults can engage in such common 19th-century activities as writing on a slate board at the School House, churning fresh cream into butter at the Powell Farmhouse, rolling wooden hoops beside the Noon Inn, and carding wool at the Benjamin House.

Children may even find that they are asked to sweep the porch at the General Store with a handmade broom, or assist the local hatter in the production of a hat.

“This is a great opportunity for children to experience life without contemporary conveniences and to gain a greater appreciation for what the daily lives of an earlier generation of Long Islanders were like,” says OBVR Site Director and Curator Jim McKenna.

Old Bethpage Village Offers Youngsters 19th-Century Lifestyle During Summer Program

In the age of the Internet, video games and cell phones, it’s difficult for youngsters to imagine what life might have been like in an era when electrical lighting didn’t even exist. But this summer, children ages nine through 12 can travel back in time and experience that sort of life at Old Bethpage Village Restoration, announced Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi.

OBVR’s Junior Apprentice Program provides a crash course in how youngsters on Long Island lived during the 19th century, set within the confines of the historic and unique Village.

The program will be offered during four one-week sessions the weeks of June 30, July 14, July 28 and August 11, from 10 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. The fee for each session is $220 per child. 

As part of the program, children will take part in a range of hands-on activities, including historic crafts; farm chores; school time in a one-room schoolhouse using slate boards; and household activities such as churning butter, making ice cream, making a scarecrow and gathering eggs. Nineteenth-century children’s games will also be featured, such as rolling hoops and shooting marbles. In addition, there will be military drills and the opportunity to dress in Civil War period clothing.

“Life without today’s conveniences might at first seem a challenge, but children ultimately find the experience enriching and certainly gain an appreciation for the lives led by an earlier generation of Long Islanders,” says OBVR Site Director and Curator Jim McKenna.

For more information and to receive an application, call Old Bethpage Village Restoration at 516-572-8401. The Village itself is closed until March.