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Hearthside dinner

Perhaps most well known for the White Mountains, the Granite State features a unique museum attraction known as the New Hampshire Heritage Museum Trail that is expected to attract 250,000 visitors in 2018.

Comprised of 17 museums divided into three branches–Seacoast, Merrimack Valley and the Lakes Region–The Trail is becoming a tourist destination, according to Mike Culver, its president.

“We have some incredible museums on The Trail, each covering aspects of New Hampshire history,” he said. “These aspects sometimes overlap, but each museum approaches it from a different perspective with an emphasis on making history relevant and fun to people of all ages.”

Located in Tamworth, about 15 minutes north of Wolfeboro, Remick Country Doctor Museum & Farm is the only country doctor museum in New England and one of only three in the United States.

“We provide year-round opportunities for visitors to engage with rural New England history, including the important contributions once made by country doctors, and present-day agricultural practices,” said Dawne Gilpatrick of the museum. “We do this through activities, tours, workshops, farm-to-table meals, educational programming and seasonal events.”

Set on a historical working farm, the museum property, barns, and buildings are “an explorers’ dream.”

“Visitors can wander the homestead grounds and interact with farm animals at their own pace and to their hearts’ content,” she added. “Exploration space includes many indoor and outdoor locations.”

Upcoming events at Remick include final sessions on November 2 in two separate “Field & Forest” programs.

In “Outdoor Walk—Plant ID,” participants will learn to recognize the abundance of useful, interesting, edible or medicinal plants on Remick grounds. In “Foragers Gathering,” participants will harvest wild, edible plants and then pair them with cultivated ingredients to create a nourishing food item.

On November 17, Remick’s Hearthside Dinner season begins and runs through March. In this series, costumed museum interpreters take guests “back in time” to learn about 19th-century kitchens and food preparation, seasonal farming practices and foods, and historic cooking recipes and tools. Guests assist in preparing, cooking, roasting and baking foods in an open hearth with traditional tools before sitting down together to enjoy the fruits of their combined labor.

According to Gilpatrick, Remick and The Trail itself are important cultural assets to the state.

“We are providing experiences that not only enlighten visitors but educate them,” she said. “Museums are vibrant centers of the community.”

Culver agrees and added, “250,000 visitors each year can’t be wrong. We hope more people right here in NH can come see what many out-of-state visitors already know about The Trail–it’s fun.”

To learn more about Remick, or any upcoming event there, visit remickmuseum.org.

In total, 17 museums make up the NH Heritage Museum Trail. Stops on The Trail include Canterbury, Concord, Dover, Exeter, Laconia, Manchester, Moultonborough, Plymouth, Tamworth, and Wolfeboro.