It takes a whole day, if not more, to appreciate fully the remarkable fifty-acre collection of unalloyed Americana gathered at the Shelburne Museum , on Rte-7 in Shelburne, seven miles south of Burlington (June to mid-Oct daily 10am-5pm, guided tours at 11am, 1pm and 2:30pm; late Oct to late-May daily 1-4pm, only select buildings open; $17.50, valid for two successive days; $10 late Oct to late May). Created in 1947 by heiress Electra Webb, the museum is built around her parents' French Impressionist paintings, including works by Degas and Monet, displayed in a meticulous reconstruction of their New York City apartment. However, Electra's own interests ranged far wider, and she put together what is probably the nation's finest celebration of its own inventions outside of the Smithsonian.

More than thirty buildings, some original and some constructed especially for the museum, focus on aspects of everyday life over the past two centuries; most are staffed by well-informed attendants. The village includes a general store, complete with painted " cigar store Indians ," an apothecary, a Shaker barn , a railroad station, and even an enormous steam paddlewheeler from Lake Champlain, the SS Ticonderoga , with its own rock-surrounded lighthouse.

Shelburne Museum

• Shelburne Museum

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