WELCOME TO THE SOUTH HERO BICENTENNIAL MUSEUM!
our email is southherobicentennialmuseum@gmail.com

Welcome to the new year! 2026 is going to be a great one! In 1976 the Landon Memorial Library was moved out of the small brick bulding at 317 Main Street, South Hero and the Bicentennial Museum was born! 2026 will be our 50th year in existence!

We are excited to announce that the third book in the South Hero History compiled by Alice Wells has been published and is available at the South Hero Town Clerk's Office starting Monday March 9th, 2026. $45 cash or check.

We are currently closed until May 23rd.

Please email with special requests or call 802-355-7811 for more information.

THE THIRD BOOK IS HERE!

Excited to announce that the third book in the South Hero History Series compiled by Alice Wells is available! Books can be purchased at the South Hero Town offices for $45 cash or check.

Published March 1, 2026 and just in time for the 250 anniversary of the United States of America and the 50 year celebration of the start of the South Hero Bicentennial Museum.

More stories, more family history, more gossip!

Travel to South Hero on the train from Burlington in 1926 and revisit the same roads from the 1906 and 1876 books while learning what is new and what has stayed the same.

We are excited to announce the recent publication of South Hero Revisited: 1906 A New Century: A New Generation.
This is the second in the series compiled by Alice Wells. This amazing book takes us over some of the same roads we traveled in 1876. The biggest changes we find to the landscape and to the lives of the Islanders are those caused by the railroad. The pages include accounts of taking the night train from Boston to South Hero, driving a horse across the lake in winter, visiting the creamery, etc. We will revisit families we met in our last book and meet many more. If after reading the first book, you wondered, "What happened next?" you don't want to miss this edition.
[Edition errata: p. 56 should read " Governor Bell, Governor McCullough's successor."]

South Hero in the Centennial Year 1876: A Photo Journey Through South Hero in 1876

This award winning book takes you on a carriage ride over the roads in South Hero in 1876, as located on Beer’s Atlas Map of 1871.

Please drop in or email us so we can get you the updated photo that replaces one that is inaccurate for its descriptive text.

Model of steamboat Ticonderoga handcrafted by Frederick Brice of Burlington, Vermont

Come visit our Steamboat Exhibit!

To learn more about lake transportation and the steamboats of Lake Champlain during the Steamboat Era (Delaware & Hudson Steamboat Roster), click here: STEAMBOATS . Lake Champlain Maritime Museum has more about the Phoenix on their website: Steamboat Phoenix . Photo to the Left: Ernie Haas print of the steamboat Phoenix fire which occured September 4, 1819. This print as well as the book The Steamboats of Lake Champlain 1809 to 1930, by Ogden Ross, was donated by The Lake Champlain Maritime Museum.

Steamboat Ticonderoga: The Ticonderoga was the last steam boat to operate on Lake Champlain. She was a link in the Lake Champlain transportation chain running between New York and Vermont. Once owned by the Lake Champlain Transit Company (Horace Corbin), she was decommissioned in 1953, and moved overland to Shelburne Museum. Steamboats.org Slideshow Workings of a walking beam steam engine

A Short Tour of South Hero Terry Robinson created this short tour to share during the time we were closed due to the pandemic. Click Here to view.

Read about our Honeymoon Cabin project. Click Here.

We had a soft opening on June 26th at the town's Cheers and Cheese Event. Many people stopped by for a visit. We're planning to announce more dates soon.
During the spring of 2022, Greg Smith and his son Tate Smith of Tourville Lane gave of their time and expertise to re-shingle the entire roof. We are so grateful to them!

Connecting with Women from South Hero’s Past While Visiting The Bicentennial Museum By Teresa Robinson

Want to meet more women from South Hero’s past? Each artifact leads to a story. Each story leads to a connection. Each connection makes South Hero feel like home. Come often to the museum to smile and connect! Click here for more...

Stop in and see our new downstairs exhibits. You will be pleasantly surprised at what you can learn! Also, see our new Green Mountain Boy doll--handmade in the 1970’s as part of the Grand Isle County doll making group and winner of both regional and national ribbons!

Early settlers to the islands used to make their own tools depending on what they needed to do. We have ice tongs for harvesting ice, wooden pipes for getting water into the cistern in the houses and wooden planes for making moldings and sashes for windows.

Yarn winders and spinning wheels as well as sewing machines and kitchen tools. A woman’s work was never done!

Bill Sobering setting up the Treadle Singer

How New Acquisitions and Loans Happen at the South Hero Museum

By Teresa Robinson

Read all about our latest finds: a 1901 Singer treadle sewing machine with original bobbins, needles, and other accessories that Kim Kinney's grandma used to use, and a pair of ice harvesting tongs Cathie Merrihew found near a backyard shed. Click here

Look What Was Uncovered This Week at the Museum!