Burlington, VT on the shores of Lake Champlain is a great city, with several treasures. Of course near is the home of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream, Stowe Skiing area, the Von Trapp Family Inn, and the amazing Shelburne Museum. Shelburne Museum is one of the country's most diverse museums of paintings, folk art, quilts and textiles, and New England history. The museum is a collection of buildings, methods of transportation, and items from life in early Vermont. . The museum, which covers acres of countryside are buildings from the early life, i.e. a one room school building, blacksmith shop, a three level round barn, all taken apart then reconstructed on site.
Among what one finds there is a side wheel paddle boat that cruised Lake Champlain a hundred years ago, a collection of wood carvings that depict a circus parade, that to scale, represents what would be over two miles in length. Many items based upon wagons, animals and artist that were part of famous circus of the day; Clyde Beatty, Sells Floto, and Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey circuses. These were carved to the scale of one inch to one foot. What colors, details and imagination in those works
Electra Havemeyer the patron of this collection married an heir to the Vanderbilt family fortune and brought to their union her family wealth which came from The Sugar Trust, which in the early 1900’s controlled 98% of the sugar harvesting and refinement. Clearly funding was not an issue, and when you see the recreation of several rooms taken directly from their Park Avenue Townhouse and plunked down inside a faux Georgian Home exterior.
Next time in the area, be sure to visit this unbelievable collection of Americana.
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