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Shelburne Museum Ticonderoga - Shelburne, Vermont
| The S.S. Ticonderoga started her career in 1906 in the shipyards at Shelburne Harbor on Lake Champlain. For 47 years, this steel hulled side wheeler cruised the length and breadth of Lake Champlain carrying passengers, freight and even the automobiles which, in the end, did so much to bring about her forced retirement.. | |
| By 1950, the aging steamboat was no longer a paying proposition and seemed destined to be broken up for its value as scrap metal. If it had not been for the vigorous action of a citizens' committee, led by Ralph Nading Hill of Burlington, the "Ti" would, today, be just a memory. Under the auspices of the Burlington Junior Chamber of Commerce and later, the Shelburne Museum, the "Ti" remained afloat four more years as a tourist vessel. But the problems of maintaining the old boat through autumn hurricanes and winter snow and ice, of cleaning, repairing and licensing the ancient boilers, and of finding trained crewmen, proved a losing battle. The decision to move the "Ti" to the Shelburne Museum's grounds seemed the best way to avert disaster and to preserve the boat for future generations. |
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| When Barns Fly? Shelburne Museum’s round barn greets visitors the moment they arrive. However, most people have no idea that the enormous, round barn was actually moved there by helicopter in 1985-86. It was built in 1901 by Fred “Silo” Quimby, over 80 miles away in Passumpsic, Vermont. The three story barn is 60 feet tall and 80 feet in diameter. Imagine the site of such as huge structure carried by skycrane helicopter over the hills and valleys of Vermont. However, the story is not entirely true, despite the fact that many people believe and will stubbornly attest to the fact that they did indeed, see a barn flying over the Green Mountains of Vermont. What they actually saw was just the barn’s silo, which was the round core of the barn. A remarkable feat in itself but not nearly as grandiose as some believe!
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