Saturday, July 25, 2026
Today we spend the day at
Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, VT, which includes thirty-nine distinct structures on forty-five acres, each filled with beautiful, fascinating, and whimsical objects. It was founded in 1947 by Electra Havemeyer Webb, the daughter of Henry and Louisine Havemeyer, who were important collectors of European and Asian art. She married polo champion James Watson Webb II whose mother was of the Vanderbilt family.
Electra went on to create what she described as a “collection of collections.” She found historic buildings that would provide appropriate settings for her collections and placed them in a village-like setting of historic New England buildings and landscapes.
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Round Barn (1901, a type of barn first built by
Massachusetts Shakers) was moved here in 1985-1986
to house the horse-drawn carriage collection |
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| Hearse (c 1849) |
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| Caleche Sleigh (c 1880) |
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| Traverse Toboggan (c 1903) (KSS) |
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There is a central silo and very high ceiling
in the Round Barn, along with the
Concord Coach (1842) |
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| Delivery Wagon (1890s) (KSS) |
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Circus Building (1965) is a horseshoe-shaped building
stretching 158 m/518' that was purpose-built to showcase
the hand-carved miniature Arnold Circus Parade
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Roy Arnold's Miniature Circus Parade (1925-1955)
includes 4,000 figures in one-inch to one-foot scale |
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| German Uhlan unit (light cavalry) |
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| The parade circled around the outer side of the horseshoe |
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| A bandwagon pulled by 40 horses |
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The inner side of the building displayed carousel
paraphernalia and circus posters |
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| Carousel horses |
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The Kirk Brothers Circus (1910-1956, by
Edgar Decker Kirk) has 3,500 figures (KSS) |
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| More of the three-ring circus (KSS) |
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Herschell-Spillman Carousel (1920s,
in North Tonawanda, NY) |
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Beach Gallery (1960 to resemble an Adirondack
hunting camp) houses the Terry Tyler collection of
Vermont firearms from 1790-1900 |
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| J Stevens Rifle with proof targets |
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| Perhaps a walnut gun stock |
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Beach Lodge (1957 to resemble an Adirondack
hunting camp) exhibits hunting trophies |
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| Mounted heads |
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| Large grizzlies |
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| Freight Shed (1963 reproduction)... |
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...houses the replica of the 1832
"Old Ironsides" by Baldwin, the first
American steam locomotive |
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Railroad Station (1890 as the original Shelburne
Railroad Station in the center of town)... |
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| ...displays a stationmaster's office |
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Grand Isle (c 1890), a private rail car that was used by
Vermont governors until 1959) |
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| Grand Isle corridor (KSS) |
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| A shared bath? |
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A sleeping compartment with a
great deal of mahogany paneling |
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Seating, and perhaps a sleeping berth
folds out from the curved ceiling/wall |
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Locomotive 220 (1915) was the last coal-burning steam
ten-wheeler used on the Central Vermont Railway |
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Steamboat Ticonderoga (1906 to serve on
Lake Champlain) is the last walking beam side-wheel
passenger steamer in existence (KSS) |
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| Fletcher Engine in the Control Room |
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| The Captain's Stateroom |
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| Passenger Stateroom |
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| Dining Room |
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| Stairs to the Salon |
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| Pilothouse |
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| Pilot's Stateroom |
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| Luxury Stateroom |
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| Pleissner Courtyard Garden |
Next: Shelburne Museum II.
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