Friday, June 17, 2011

The Shelburne Museum–Shelburne, VT

Wednesday June 8th – We left the Adirondacks and drove to Shelburne, Vermont (just south of Burlington). In researching this area, We ran across the Shelburne Museum which caught our interest with their description of having a collection of old, historic buildings being used to showcase collections of American art and handicrafts. We planned to see the Museum on Wednesday afternoon, spend the night in Shelburne, then tour Shelburne Farms in the morning before heading on to New Hampshire.

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This round barn is a beautiful example of the kind of building that were restored by the museum.

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It now houses a carousel display with all kinds of carousel animals.

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We were as fascinated by the architecture as by the displays…..

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This unusual building slopes up the hill and across a little bridge. The landscaping around it was lovely……this is a whole flower bed of daylilies, which will be in bloom over the summer. I would love to see it then!

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The Ticonderoga was the last working steam boat on Lake Champlain.

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The Ticonderoga was used for pleasure cruises and was decorated with luxury and style.

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This is a horse shoe shaped barn…..

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Which housed a very extensive collection of old horse draw buggies and wagons.

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This Conestoga wagon was used to haul supplies and cargo to settlers.

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These are just several of the historic buildings which had been moved to Shelburne and restored. A colonial home, an “English Cottage”, a log cabin and even a covered bridge.

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This stenciling was found and restored in one of the homes. We learned that stenciling was considered to be a more affordable way to finish a wall than wall paper, which was quite expensive at the time. Groups of traveling ‘stencilers’ would make their way around offering their services to the less wealthy farmers in the area.

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This was a general store that had been restored…..complete with the Apothecary, or Pharmacy.

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We enjoyed the Shelburne Museum and their extensive collections, but were a bit disappointed that there was not more folk art or hand crafts, though I know that they probably rotate their exhibits from time to time.

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