Shelburne Farms is a nonprofit environmental education center and National Historic Landmark on the shores of Lake Champlain in Shelburne, Vermont. It is also one of the principal concert sites for the Vermont Mozart Festival.

Shelburne Farms was created in 1886 by Dr. William Seward Webb and Eliza Vanderbilt Webb as a model agricultural estate. They commissioned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted to guide the layout of of farm, field and forest, and architect Robert H. Robertson, to design the buildings. Shelburne Farms was incorporated as a nonprofit educational facility in 1972. Nearly of sustainably managed woodlands received Green Certification from the Forest Stewardship Council in 1998.

The Shelburne Farms grass-based dairy supports a herd of 125 purebred, registered Brown Swiss cows. Their milk is made into an award-winning farmhouse cheddar cheese. The farm serves as an educational resource by practicing rural land use that is environmentally, economically and culturally sustainable. Visitors may enjoy the walking trails, children’s farmyard, inn, restaurant, property tours and special events.

References

External links

• Shelburne Farms Website
• A Pastoral Preserve Faces the Future in Smithsonian Magazine by Chris Granstrom, May 1998.
• Opulence and comfort on a Vanderbilt scale in The Boston Globe By Patricia Harr and David Lyon, September 12, 2004
• Shelburne Farms in The Vermont Museum and Gallery Alliance