Living history is described as a movement, a technique, a philosophy and an educational tool. It got it's start almost a hundred years ago in Europe as historians and antiquarians looked for ways to bring the past to life. Its more recent incarnation grew out of efforts by a generation of visionaries like Henry Ford who promoted hands- on learning, and the founders of the 1933 Witter Agricultural Museum at the New York State Fair who set weavers and spinners to work demonstrating historic processes in a gallery museum. Animation and an experience of history using the five senses as well as intellect and emotions defined the interpretive technique from the beginning. Today living history runs the gamut from individuals wearing thoroughly researched reproductions of period clothing, speaking as a specific or composite character from the past with the proper accent, and appearing in a carefully reconstructed or restored and furnished period structure.
Landscapes provide settings and generally include antique plants and animals.
The living history practitioners eat historic foods. Their motivations for such endeavors included more effective interpretation of material culture, testing of an archaeological thesis or gathering of data, and the enjoyment of a recreational activity which also provided a learning experience. The preservation of buildings, objects, processes and the stuff and activities of everyday life - especially in rural settings constituted important components of these early developments. During the 1960s the conversation and experimentation broadened with proponents such as Marion Clawson proposing a system of regional living history farms throughout the United States. As the idea of living history spread and audiences found entertainment as well as meaning and enlightenment at the sites who embraced the living history idea, more sites sought to join the movement with varying degrees of commitment, historical research and funding.