Endeavor Team
The Shelburne History Project
Attractions
Shelburne Museum
By Hannah
Have you ever seen a boat sail on land? Well Shelburne Museum has! In 1955 the steam ship Ticonderoga was brought to the museum. It came over land for over a mile! This had never been done before, and never will be done again. The Shelburne Museum was started by Electra Havermeyer Webb in 1947. She was eighteen when she got the idea for the museum. In the 1940's her husband retired and they came to Vermont permanently. Now she could open her museum! One of her first items was a cigar store Indian. There are over twenty-four buildings at the museum and each has a different collection of folk art. The museum has objects of both history and art. Mrs. Webb loved unexpected objects that had ordinary uses. The objects were made for home and work.
One special building is the Round Barn. It is one story and
the basement is unexposed. The siding is clapboard. The roof shape is round
and the trim is plain. The main door is flat and the windows are plain.
It has no wings and no porches. The top circular section was brought to
the museum by a big helicopter and dropped into place. Everyone in Shelburne
came to watch.
She and her husband both died in the 1960's. However, the museum is still
open today, and people from all around come to visit the Shelburne Museum
today.
Ticonderoga
By John
Our boat won't take you anywhere, but you can walk all around its decks and pretend you're sailing down Lake Champlain. You'll find the steamboat, Ticonderoga at the Shelburne Museum.
The Ticonderoga was an excursion boat of the Champlain Transportation Company until 1953. It was built at the Shelburne Shipyard and finished on April 18, 1906. The last captain of the ship was Ell B. Rockwell. The Ticonderoga was moved into the Shelburne Harbor for her final trip to the Shelburne Museum in 1954. The trip to the museum took a little over a year but the Webb family supported it and now you can see our beautiful ship in the Shelburne Museum.
Some interesting facts about the boat are: There were 5 staterooms but it wasn't an overnight sleeping ship. 140 meals were served a day for the people to enjoy. The Ticonderoga was one of the first ships with a walking beam. The boat cost over 2.4 million dollars to build. The Ticonderoga also carried 360 automobiles in its lifespan and an elephant! Now that is a ship you should really meet! The Ticonderoga is old and rocks and creeks.
So let's go sometime it's really interesting and fun! You know everyone would have a great time!
Shelburne Farms
Coach Barn
By Christina
When you're bored come to the Coach Barn at Shelburne Farms for some fun and history all in one.
The Coach Barn is a two and a half story building. It has a slate roof. The Coach Barn is made of stretcher bond brick. It has boxed cornice for trim.
The Coach Barn was built in 1901 and 1902, and was designed by Robert H. Robertson. The Coach Barn was originally built for the Webb family. In 1910, the Webb's automobiles were stored there. The farm's wing section contained box stalls for the horses, which was on the first floor. Haylofts were above the box stalls. In the barn, steam radiators were mounted high on the walls so that it was more like home.
Today the Coach Barn is used for lots of different events. One of them is the Harvest festival. Almost seventy percent of the events are held by nonprofit organizations.
I think it's really neat that the Coach Barn was used one
hundred years ago, and is still used today. The Coach Barn has been kept
preserved.
Farm Barn
By Jenna
Do you want to go see a horse, then lets go to Shelburne Farm Barn for a fun horse ride. Yahoo!
The farm was built in 1888, so that makes it one hundred
and fourteen years old. The north and south wings were built in 1890. Can
you guess how many stories are in the farm barn? Five stories tall, that
is a big building!
During the construction of the barn, workers had to live in dormitories
on the property of the barn and Shelburne farms. The clock was added in
1890. The clock has two sides. One side controls the movements (the hands)
and the other side strikes the bell. Some people think the weathervane is
a Chinese dragon. Others think that the vane is a symbol of the Lake Champlain
monster, Champ. Farming started in the 1920's, 30's, and 40's.
The University of Vermont had a survey where people could make suggestions for the barn in 1989. In 1991, the farmyard opened for children to participate in fun activities, like milking a cow, or making ice cream and lots more! The farm barn also has field trips available for Pre School and elementary schools to help them learn a little more about what they are studying. For Pre School, the field trips are mostly for fun. Mostly every year, the farm has a fun, winter festival.
The siding on the barn is brick. The doors shape is a semi circle and so are the windows. It doesn't have a porch. It does have wings.
So that is the history of Shelburne Farm's Farm Barn. Now
lets go have some fun at this famous barn. See you there!
Breeding Barn
By Dylan
Do you know what a Breeding Barn is? Located in Shelburne Vermont, the Breeding Barn helps take care of the new Cow mothers and their calves.
The building has a "cross gable" roof and is 2 ½ stories. The building is made of coarse cut stone. The architecture of the building is beautifully sculpted.
The Breeding Barn was built in 1891. The owner, Mr. Webb raised beautiful English Hackney horses here. He use to breed the horses with other horses and take care of them while they were growing up. In the Breeding Barn, they could fit over 100 horses.
Today, the Breeding Barn is being restored to be used in
the future for concerts and other events. They hope to have live shows in
the building for children and other visitors. I think it would have been
neat to go to the Breeding Barn and look at the baby cows. So when you are
in Shelburne sometime, stop by the Breeding Barn and you can see a very
cool building!
Shelburne House Inn
By Mac
Are you looking for a good time? If you are, then come on down to The Shelburne House Inn, a beautiful home on the shores of Lake Champlain and Shelburne Farms. This 24-room Inn serves breakfast and dinner for over 2,400 visitors each year.
When you stay at The Shelburne House Inn, many of the rooms are named. One example is the "Overlook" room, which was once Lila Webb's bedroom. This room is called the "Overlook" because of the beautiful view of Lake Champlain. Other rooms may have views of the landscaped gardens or meadows.
The Shelburne House was the informal residence of the Webb family. New York City architect, Robert Robinson, designed it in 1887. It was originally designed as a two-story shingle style rectangular home. The roof was a Gable style with a boxed cornice around the edge. Looking at the front door, you would see a curved hood plain in style and as you look to the south end you would notice the Portico attached porch. Sitting on 44,000 square feet, The Shelburne House Inn has views of the lake and meadows.
The Webb's moved into the estate in 1888. Ten years later,
in 1898, the Webbs had the house renovated to become a more formal Queen
Anne Style. Moldings and Cornices were added to make the house more modern.
In October 1926, Dr. Webb died. Ten years following his death his wife Lila
passed away. In 1985, Shelburne Farms became a non-profit business. Putting
1.6 million dollars into this old house, the walls were repaired; chimneys
replaced and other renovations took place to make the old house an extravagant
Inn.
Today, it is a 24 room Inn that is open from May to October. Visitors can
enjoy their stay from dinners in the original dinning room to concerts on
the green overlooking the lake. So come on down to the Shelburne House Inn
for some good food, great music and beautiful views.
Morgan Horse Association
By Erick
Do you want to learn about the Morgan Horse? Then come to the National Morgan Horse Museum in Shelburne, Vermont.
The Morgan Horse Museum was first opened in 1988. It is named after Justin Morgan who brought the first bay stallion, Figure, who became the foundation of all of the other Morgan Horses.
People who like to know more about these horses can visit this museum. There are statues and pictures of famous Morgan Horses. The records of all purebred Morgan Horses are kept in this museum. There is also a library with a huge collection of artifacts. They have a gift shop and in the back of the building there is a fenced area where they conduct the annual Grand National Horse Show.
The museum is L-shaped with one wing. In spite of its one story gabled roof, it looks interesting and welcoming to visitors. The wood siding is clapboard and there is a long covered walkway that leads you to the spacious lobby.
For all of you who love and enjoy horses this is the place
to go.
Teddy Bear Factory
By Stephanie
Do you love teddy bears? Then I have the perfect place for you to visit. The Teddy Bear Factory is bear heaven and is located just outside the Shelburne Village.
A man by the name of John Sorting decided to make and sell bears out of a peddler's cart at the downtown market in Burlington. His bears became so popular that they built a 60,000 square foot building on 57 acres just outside Shelburne. This modern colorful building has several large windows and beams that let the sunshine in and the view out. Once you buy a Vermont Teddy Bear it is guaranteed for life! You can also order a "Bear-a-gram" on-line and have a bear delivered to a friend.
So if you want to visit bear heaven and see how the teddy bears are made, be
sure to visit the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory today!
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Web page created by Lissa Cenis
lcenis@scsvt.org
Page last updated: May 23, 2002