Electra Webb spent years building elaborate collections now on display in a beautiful setting near Lake Champlain. 

A winding walkway takes you from one curious collection to the next. Each is housed in one of several unique buildings across the property such as a round barn, weaver shop, stagecoach inn, lighthouse, and jailhouse. Large outdoor sculptures and gardens are interspersed between the buildings, so every turn yields a surprise.

One of Webb’s more amazing feats was accomplished in 1955 when an 890-ton steamship, Ticonderoga, was hauled two miles across land to be displayed on the property. Aboard, visitors can investigate its four decks of public and working areas. It’s also one of the few remaining paddle-wheel ships.

For automaton enthusiasts, some of Gustave Vichy’s works are housed on the museum campus. Throughout, visitors can find 18th and 19th-century toys and dollhouses. If you are searching for the 3,500 piece handmade circus parade, it’s housed in its own horseshoe-shaped building. Edgar Kirk spent around forty years carving the exhibit.