[1] Founded in 1985, the museum took up residence in an old stone schoolhouse on the grounds of the Basin Harbor Club, a private resort situated on the lake's shoreline, and opened to the public in 1986.

Since its opening LCMM has expanded to include 18 buildings at two sites housing collections and exhibits, a boat shop and small shipyard, blacksmith facilities, an archaeological conservation laboratory, a museum store, offices, and lecture space.

[4] This replica is an accurate reproduction of the original vessel which was sunk in combat at the Battle of Valcour Island, which was raised from the lake's bottom in 1935 and is currently preserved at the Smithsonian Institution.

[6] LCMM conducts educational, boatbuilding, and boating programs, and hosts lectures, annual juried photography shows, and historical re-enactment events.

LCMM also offers classes ranging from on-water exploration to traditional crafts; and staff educators conduct wintertime outreach to area schools, visiting students in their classrooms and helping them learn about the American Revolutionary War, 19th-century maritime commerce, and Lake Champlain's archaeological resources.