Our Stories

Consummate storyteller John Krueger is always more than happy to share his knowledge of the Champlain Valley’s cultural heritage. Photo: LCBP.

The many stories of our heritage are told in museums, historic sites and natural areas throughout the CVNHP, including high-profile destinations such as the Adirondack Park, Fort Ticonderoga, Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, Green Mountain National Forest, Saratoga National Historical Park, ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center, Shelburne Farms, Shelburne Museum, Vermont and New York state historic sites, Parks Canada sites along the Richelieu River, and the Lake Champlain Underwater Historic Preserves.  Scores of smaller museums, historic sites, and parks compliment these destinations, providing visitors with an intimate understanding of their particular role in history. The CVNHP frequently works with a variety of these partners to undertake larger projects that tell the stories of key historical events or themes.

Through this rich history, the CVNHP region became a place where new ideas are conceived, innovative products developed, and a new appreciation of heritage flourishes.  High-tech and entrepreneurial endeavors are cultivated to be part of a business mosaic that includes both manufacturing and traditional agriculture. A burgeoning “local foods” movement provides new directions for sustainable farming; vegetable stands, farmers markets and county fairs are woven into a modern culture.

There are only 55 places designated as national heritage areas (NHA) in the U.S. This designation in 2006 allows the Lake Champlain Basin Program (LCBP) to provide financial and professional support to communities, museums and organizations that work to interpret and promote our region’s history and culture. Since 1992, the LCBP has promoted interpretation of the Champlain Valley’s natural and cultural treasures in order to build appreciation and improve stewardship of these resources.

The CVNHP coordinates activities with other NHAs including the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor and the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area in eastern New York. These NHAs connect and overlap just north of Albany, where the Mohawk River flows into the Hudson. This confluence of the three NHAs is also the hub of three great transportation corridors on which extraordinary historical events occurred and where social movements began, reflecting the common interest and shared heritage of the three regions.