The Richmond Round Church, built in 1813, is a unique octagonal building that originally served as both the town hall and a shared place of worship for five Protestant congregations. For decades, Richmond residents gathered here for community meetings and religious services, making it a central hub of civic and spiritual life. Today, the Round Church is preserved by the Richmond Historical Society and is open to the public in the summer and fall. Visitors can explore its distinctive architecture, learn about its rich history, and attend concerts, weddings, and other community events hosted in this iconic Vermont landmark.

In 1814 Commodore William MacDonough of the U.S. Navy built a small fleet of warships at a shipyard on the Otter Creek in Vergennes. This fleet successfully defeated a British fleet in the Battle of Plattsburgh Bay, ending the northern threat during the War of 1812. While this park is a memorial and not an active museum, a unique slice of history was carved out beneath the Vergennes Falls.

The John Strong Museum offers a rare glimpse into life during the founding era inside the 230 year old home of Revolutionary War patriot John Strong and his family. Preserved as one of Vermont’s most important eighteenth century residences, the mansion showcases remarkable Federal architecture and period room displays that tell the story of a Colonial family living on the northern frontier. The museum is open Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays from 11 am to 3 pm from May through October, with weekday and large group tours available by appointment from mid May through October, subject to guide availability.

Rokeby Museum preserves the former home of the Robinson family, four generations of Quakers, farmers, abolitionists, artists, and writers who lived on this property from 1793 to 1961. Designated a National Historic Landmark, Rokeby is one of the best documented Underground Railroad sites in the country, recognized by the National Park Service for the integrity of its history and the powerful human stories it tells. Today, the museum connects visitors to the lived experience of the Underground Railroad while honoring the Robinsons’ enduring commitment to justice, truth, and moral courage.

The St. Albans Museum brings America’s 250 year story to life through the lens of one Vermont community, showing how national movements from the Revolutionary War to industrial growth, women’s rights, and medical advances shaped everyday life in St. Albans. Its exhibits connect local stories, including the Civil War era St. Albans Raid and deep Abenaki history, to the broader American experience as the nation marks its 250th anniversary. The museum is open May through October on Wednesday and Thursday from 12 PM to 4 PM, and Friday and Saturday from 10 AM to 4 PM.

St. Anne’s Shrine occupies one of Vermont’s earliest European settlement sites, where the French established Fort St. Anne and a chapel in 1666. The site hosted the first known Catholic Mass and episcopal visit in the Northeast, serving both French settlers and Indigenous converts. Though the fort was abandoned, devotion to St. Anne endured and was revived in the late 19th century as Vermont’s Catholic community grew. By the early 1900s, the Shrine had become a major pilgrimage destination, drawing thousands by steamboat from across the Lake Champlain region.

Now home to Burlington Beer Company, this South End building was once the U.S. factory of brothers Auguste and Louis Lumière—pioneers of cinema and inventors of the first practical color photography process. From 1903 to 1912, groundbreaking autochrome film was produced here in one of the world’s most advanced photographic facilities, helping revolutionize how history, science, and global events were recorded in color. The building remains a rare surviving link to Burlington’s role in a world-changing innovation.

The cabin was built in 1783 by Jedediah Hyde, Jr., who surveyed the Grand Isle area with his father, Jedediah Hyde.   Hyde raised ten children in this cabin, and it was subsequently owned and occupied by members of the Hyde family for 150 years. In 1946 it was moved to its present location, and has undergone several rounds of restoration. The cabin has been furnished with period appropriate items from the Hyde family and local families. It is owned by the town of Grand Isle and operated as a historic house museum by the Grand Isle Historical Society, open on weekends between May and October.

Shelburne Farms is a historic estate on the shores of Lake Champlain established in the late 1800s by Eliza  Vanderbilt Webb and Dr. William Seward Webb as a model agricultural property. Designed with grand farm buildings, landscaped grounds, and sweeping lake views, it reflects the vision of the Gilded Age alongside innovative farming practices of the time. Today, visitors can explore the preserved historic campus and working farm to experience how this landmark has evolved while remaining rooted in Vermont’s agricultural and cultural history.

Built in Shelburne in 1906, the Ticonderoga (fondly known as the “Ti”) operated as a day boat on Lake Champlain, serving ports along the New York and Vermont shores until 1953. In 1955, it was moved two miles overland from the lake to Shelburne Museum in a remarkable engineering effort that stands as one of the great feats of maritime preservation. Visitor can explore the boat and get a glimpse of what travel was like by boat in the early 1900s.

Battery Park in Burlington was once a defensive position during the War of 1812. Vermont troops saw full-size warships sailing on Lake Champlain. Many soldiers died of disease during the cold winters. General William Wells was one of the most decorated Vermont soldiers during the Civil War. He led the First Vermont Calvary at the Battle of Gettysburg. A statue of the major general stands in Battery Park in Burlington.

Lake Champlain Maritime Museum opened its first building, a historic stone schoolhouse, in 1985 with the mission to preserve and share the cultural and natural heritage of the Lake Champlain region. Today, the Museum serves a broad community throughout the Champlain Valley and beyond, working to connect all people with Lake Champlain through learning experiences, exhibits and collections at its 3-acre waterfront campus, digital engagement, boat building, underwater archaeology research projects, and more.

The Ethan Allen Homestead Museum in Burlington preserves the riverside home and land where one of Vermont’s most influential and controversial founders spent his final years. Best known for leading the Green Mountain Boys and capturing Fort Ticonderoga at the start of the Revolutionary War, Ethan Allen was also a philosopher and outspoken Deist whose ideas helped shape early American thought. Today, visitors can explore the homestead along the Winooski River Intervale and learn how Allen’s life, legend, and legacy reflect both the ideals and the complexities of America’s founding era.