Museums and Historical Sites near Brandon

A little bit of everything for history buffs!

There are three museums in the Brandon area:

  • Brandon Museum at the Stephen A. Douglas Birthplace featuring Brandon History, the story of Stephen A. Douglas, one of America’s most prominent 19th century statesmen, the study of this first generation Vermont home, built in 1802.
  • New England Maple Museum tells the sweetest story ever told about Vermont's oldest and most misunderstood agricultural commodity ... Maple. Publications including "Food and Wine, Saveur, Eating Well" and recently "Food Network" magazine have ranked this attraction a top "Food Museum!"
  • The Phonograph Room houses a collection of vintage "talking machines" and is intended to be a modest working display, not just a static museum. In the works are a vintage recording archive with hundreds of 78s for sale and phonograph-related prints and gifts.
Brandon Free Public Library

And many more within an hour's drive, makes Brandon an ideal base from which to discover Vermont's history and heritage:

  • Mount Independence State Historic Site - Nationally important Revolutionary War site, with museum, archeological ruins, & 6 miles of walking and hiking trails.
  • Chimney Point State Historic Site features a presentation of Native American, French colonial, and early American history of Vermont and Lake Champlain area in historic tavern building.
  • Hubbardton Battlefield is the site of the only Revolutionary War battle fought on Vermont soil and one of the best preserved battle sites and settings in the country. Beautiful views of Taconic and Adirondack mountains.
  • Chaffee Art Center is a fifty-year-old not for profit community art center offering exhibitions and fine art by artists from all over Vermont; gallery talks and demonstrations.
  • Hildene, The Lincoln Family Home - His father was born in a log cabin and later became the 16th president. One generation later, Robert Todd Lincoln built his ancestral home in this scenic village. On a promontory in a quintessential Vermont landscape it has breathtaking views of the valley and mountains. Home, exhibits, gardens, farm animals and walking trails on 412 preserved acres.
  • UVM Morgan Horse Farm featuring the VT State Animal, the Morgan Horse, since 1878. 2.5 miles from downtown Middlebury.
  • Middlebury College Museum of Art -The college's permanent collection, traveling exhibitions, antiquities, Asian art, photography, 19th-century European and American painting and sculpture, contemporary prints.
  • Vermont Folklife Center is dedicated to preserving and presenting the cultural traditions of Vermont and the surrounding region.
  • Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History is the oldest community history museum in the U.S., the Sheldon's collection features 19th century Vermont furniture, textiles, paintings and household artifacts.
  • Shelburne Museum is one of the finest, most diverse, and unconventional museums of art and Americana. Over 150,000 works are exhibited in a remarkable setting of 39 exhibition buildings, 25 of which are historic and were relocated to the Museum grounds.
  • Shelburne Farms is a nonprofit education organization whose mission is to cultivate a conservation ethic for a sustainable future. The campus is a 1,400-acre working farm and National Historic Landmark on the shores of Lake Champlain in Shelburne, Vermont.
  • Rokeby Museum - a stop on the Underground Railroad in Ferrisburgh.
  • Lake Champlain Maritime Museum is a non-profit museum dedicated to preserving and sharing the history of Lake Champlain
  • Vermont Teddy Bear Company - take the tour where Teddy Bears come to life before your eyes.
  • ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center - discover 70 live species, over 100 interactive experiences, and seasonal changing exhibits and events — all exploring the Ecology, Culture, History and Opportunity for stewardship of the remarkable Lake Champlain Basin.
  • Vermont History Museum - touch the past and experience Vermont's History! Visit the Vermont Historical Society’s award-winning exhibit, Freedom and Unity: One Ideal, Many Stories. Give your senses a lift! Smell the scents from an old general store, touch a telegraph or sit in a World War II living room. See a movie about the Great Flood of 1927 or listen to Vermont voices from the 20th century.
  • Billings Farm & Museum - Explore one of the finest operating dairy farms in America and a museum of Vermont's rural past – your gateway to Vermont's rural heritage. Billings Farm features many aspects of farm work, including care of the Jersey cows and other livestock, milking of the herd, crop rotation, and feed production.
  • Marsh - Billings - Rockefeller National Historical Park is in Woodstock, Vermont. The park preserves the site where Frederick Billings established a managed forest and a progressive dairy farm.
  • Montshire Museum of Science - enjoy one of greatest assemblages of hands-on, child-friendly exhibits ever gathered in one place. Outdoor Science Park and Learning Center. Inside, live animals, aquariums, exhibits on space, nature, and technology. Outside, explore nature trails.
  • VINS Nature Center - see magnificent live raptors such as owls, eagles, hawks and falcons and enjoy bird-on-glove and flight programs. Bald and Golden Eagles, Snowy Owls, Peregrine Falcons, Red-tailed Hawks and 20 additional species. Educational programs and nature trails leading to the Ottauquechee River and the Quechee Gorge.
  • Ben & Jerry's Factory Tour - Fun, educational factory tour. See a moo-vie, view production & sample the flavor of the day.
  • Fort Ticonderoga - Explore 18th century history at America's Fort. 2,000 acres overlooking the beautiful Lake Champlain from the New York side, just a short ferry ride away.