History, Natural History & the Arts
On October 11, 1776 during the Battle of Valcour Bay one of the cannon aboard the gunboat New York exploded, killing Patriot sailor Thomas Rogers and injuring his crewmen Jonas Holden and Daniel McCay.
Most of the original cannon pieces are at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in Vergennes, VT, but new explorations of the Valcour battle area have just uncovered the last major piece of the exploded cannon. [Read more…] about ‘Last’ Piece of Battle of Valcour Bay Exploded Cannon Discovered
On October 11, 1776 during the Battle of Valcour Bay one of the cannon aboard the gunboat New York exploded, killing Patriot sailor Thomas Rogers and injuring his crewmen Jonas Holden and Daniel McCay.
The first major fleet-on-fleet naval battle of the American Revolutionary War, the battle was fought on Lake Champlain off Plattsburgh, as future notorious traitor Benedict Arnold managed to delayed a massive British invasion fleet. [Read more…] about Recovering the Exploded Cannon at Valcour Bay
Veteran journalist and newspaper editor Anthony Hall of the Lake George Mirror alerted us to this story. Subscribe (or just make a gift) to the Mirror to support the important work of local journalists.
In the murky depths of Lake Champlain, the skeletal remains of the Continental Navy schooner Royal Savage rested for over 150 years, a silent witness to the birth of the American Navy.
However, after recovery in 1934 through turbulent years of improper storage, possibly being sold off to the highest bidder, and the government’s rescue of artifacts, countless hours of preservation, 3D-scans of original timbers and 1:12 scale models, visitors to the National Museum of the U.S. Navy in Washington, DC, can finally see history re-imagined. [Read more…] about Royal Savage: Neglected Champlain Warship Finally ‘On View’
In the years leading to the current 250th anniversary commemorations of 1776, the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum has focused its Lake Champlain archaeology research activities on the American Revolution.
The Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance will host Chris Sabick, Executive Director of the Museum, for a presentation entitled “Underwater Archaeology of the American Revolution on Lake Champlain”, on Thursday, March 19, starting at 7 pm in the Holiday Inn Resort in Lake George. [Read more…] about Lake Champlain Archaeology from the Revolution
The Canal Society of New York State completed a multi‑year effort to move the full‑scale replica 1860s‑era canal boat Lois McClure to a land berth at Erie Canal Heritage Park in Port Byron in Cayuga County, NY, on December 23, 2025.
Launched in 2004 by the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, the Lois McClure spent nearly twenty years traveling the NYS Canal System as an educational “time machine” helping people better understand the state’s maritime history and culture. [Read more…] about Canal Boat Replica Lois McClure Moved to Port Byron
Each year, archaeologists come together with the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum to share new research, developments, and discoveries from their work in Lake Champlain in a special online summit that is free for all to attend.
The Museum will host their 5th Annual Virtual Archaeology Conference on February 12, 2026 from 1 to 4 pm. [Read more…] about 5th Annual Lake Champlain Virtual Archaeology Conference Feb 12th
This week’s Lake George Battlefield Moments podcast features Chris Sabick, the Executive Director of the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, in Vergennes, Vermont.
Sabick discusses his experience as a maritime archaeologist; the museum’s plans for commemorating the 250th anniversary of the founding of the US; Benedict Arnold’s leadership during the Battle of Valcour Bay; and how the Lake George Submerged Heritage Preserve could be better managed. [Read more…] about Lake Champlain Maritime Archaeologist & Museum Director Chris Sabick
Lake Champlain Maritime Museum has opened the Ernest Haas Collection to the public online. With 31 paintings and numerous sketches, the Ernest Haas Collection contains high-quality paintings of well-known historical events like “The Last Gunboat” (depicting the sunken Revolutionary War gunboat Spitfire) and “Phoenix Sinking” (depicting that fateful night in September 1819 which ended in the destruction of one of the lake’s early steamboats). [Read more…] about Ernest Hass Historical Painting Collection Now Online
History, artifacts, and shipwrecks lie in the depths of Lake Champlain, waiting to share their secrets and stories with the underwater archaeologists who dive down to explore. In 2025, Lake Champlain Maritime Museum is introducing Talking Archaeology, a free evening talk series with Museum archaeologists and researchers.
You can learn about local history, archaeological discoveries, artifacts, and the unique stories that the Museum has uncovered over four decades of nautical archaeology and research. [Read more…] about American Revolution Archaeological Research in Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in Ferrisburg, VT, will welcome visitors back for its 2025 season beginning Saturday, May 17. With exhibits, shipwreck tours, sailing, and other unique experiences, museum officials say this season is all about inspiring curiosity, connecting with local history, and providing opportunities for everyone to engage with the lake.
The museum will once again open its doors for free for all guests in 2025 and will also continue to offer pay-what-you-can summer camps and teen expeditions. [Read more…] about Lake Champlain Maritime Museum’s 2025 Season Announced
On Thursday, February 6, 2025, from 1 pm until 4 pm, the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum will host it’s fourth annual Virtual Archaeology Conference. The free online summit is a unique way for the Museum’s Research & Archaeology team to share the latest from their work in Lake Champlain. The 2025 conference will explore archaeological process, new technology, shipwreck management, artifact preservation, and more. [Read more…] about Lake Champlain Virtual Archaeology Conference Set for Thursday
One of America’s most historic ships, which spent most of its career traveling between New York City and Southampton, England, will serve as a kind of metaphor for our times when it’s hauled to Florida, loaded with explosives and purposely sunk.
It’s just one of several historic vessels with ties to New York State that have recently been abandoned for lack of funding. [Read more…] about New York’s Historic Vessels Highlight Preservation Failures
If you were walking in Lower Manhattan in the mid-1950s and happened upon a dead-end street of warehouses named Coenties Slip, you would have stumbled upon a “Canalboat Village” – a cluster of barges which had once hauled limestone from Vermont and oysters to Essex, NY, now permanently moored. [Read more…] about The Lives of Cannalers: Lake Champlain’s Sailing Canal Boat Families
Wrecked during a brutal winter gale that came howling across Lake Champlain, the story of one of Burlington, Vermont‘s most famous shipwrecks, General Butler, is an incredible tale of survival and rescue. Everyone survived thanks to quick thinking and two first responders. [Read more…] about The Dramatic Shipwreck of the General Butler at the Burlington Breakwater
While the maritime industry of the 19th century was largely dominated by men, the canal boat community was strikingly different. Boats were often owned and operated by families who lived on board, combining work and home for men, women, and children, and building strong, connected communities with other canal boat families. [Read more…] about Unique Exhibit Showcases Lake Champlain Canal Boats
The Lake Champlain Basin Program will host Chris Sabick, Executive Director of the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, on Thursday, March 14th for the final presentation of the Love the Lake speaker series. He will present “Underwater Archaeology of the Revolution: Current and Future Research on Lake Champlain,” both in person and virtually. [Read more…] about Lake Champlain Underwater Archaeology and History
Each year, researchers and archaeologists with Lake Champlain Maritime Museum come together to share new research, developments, and discoveries from their work in Lake Champlain in a virtual summit that is open and free for all to attend. The third annual Virtual Archaeology Conference will be held February 15, 2024, from 1 until 4 pm. [Read more…] about Lake Champlain Virtual Archaeology Conference
2023 marks the 200th anniversary of the opening of the Champlain Canal, which connects Lake Champlain to the Hudson River and the rest of the New York State canal system.
In commemoration of this important anniversary, the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum is doing an inventory of our collections relating to canalboat shipwrecks in the lake. Today, I want to share an interesting story about one of these canalboat wrecks, the sailing canalboat O.J. Walker. [Read more…] about The Musicians of the Sailing Canalboat O.J. Walker
The Lake Champlain Maritime Museum announced today the appointment of new executive director, Chris Sabick. Sabick has been the museum’s director of research and archaeology since 2013 and brings decades of experience and a career-long dedication to Lake Champlain, research, history and public access into this new leadership role. [Read more…] about Lake Champlain Maritime Museum Names New Director
The Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in Vergennes, Vermont, is donating its replica 1862-class sailing canal schooner Lois McClure to the Canal Society of New York, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of the state’s historic canals. [Read more…] about Replica Sailing Canal Schooner Lois McClure Donated to Canal Society of New York
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