January and February attendance was up 32 percent over last year at Old Sturbridge Village, the best start to a year in seven years for the living museum.
The early-year success came on top of an 8 percent increase in attendance for 2008.
The museum, which depicts rural New England life in the 1830s, said the January and February attendance numbers are especially encouraging given the poor economy and the cold and stormy weather during the last two months.
In all, 11,912 people visited OSV during the two-month period compared to 8,993 in January and February 2008. Museum membership also increased by 23 percent compared to the same two months a year ago.
