Old Sturbridge Village on the Old Maps

 

Old Sturbridge Village was built on lands that once belonged to the Wight family.  This 1831 map shows "D. Wight's Saw Mill" being fed by a man-made mill pond that still exists today (actually part of the Quinnebaug River).  OSV now occupies most of the area shown in this excerpt.  There is a modern dam at the same location as in 1831. See the Google map below.

The sawmill on the modern map is at (or close to) the same location as the 1831 sawmill. Old Sturbridge Village built the replica in the 1980s.
Below is a 1795 map of this same area. There are two sawmills shown.  I think the one to the south is the old Wight sawmill site.  I am not sure who owned it then.


Later maps are also interesting to look at

The above map, 1858 shows Wight's  grist mill and saw mill (at the large "B" on the map).  The house D. Wight is on the premises of today's OSV (???).  Note several other Wight houses at the top of the map , including Wight's Store.

The 1870 map above shows "D. Wight" still at the main farmhouse in the center of map. For the first time we see the mill pond / reservoir that powered the mills.  The map below, also 1870, is a closer view of this same area. The grist mill and saw mill are shown with the access road leading north.

Below is an excerpt from the 1892 Birds Eye view of the area.

In the center is the Wight farmstead and at the lower left are the mills.  Close-up below:

This needs some analysis. Why is the most southerly building straddling the road? 

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Now to a USGS maps that shows OSV in 1945
In 1945 OSV was in it's early years and then known as Quinebaug Village.  We see several roads and more than a dozen buildings.  Below is the same area in 1982.



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