The Creamery

To learn about the lake’s history, step into this small local museum (28 Hannum St., 315/685-1360, 1–4 p.m. Fri. year-round, 1–4 p.m. Thurs.–Sat. May–Sept., free admission) housed in the former Skaneateles Creamery building. From 1899 to 1949, area farmers brought their milk here to be turned into buttermilk, cream, and butter.

Displays include scale models of the boats that once sailed the lake, exhibits on dairy farming, and information about the teasel, a thistle-like plant once used in woolen mills to raise a cloth’s nap. For 120 years, Skaneateles [1] was the teasel-growing capital of the United States.

The Creamery is run by the Skaneateles Historical Society (28 Hannum St., 315/685-1360, www.skaneateleshistoricalsociety.org [2]), which also offers walking tours of the village.