Two naval battles which determined the course of American history were fought on Lake Champlain, the October 11, 1776 Battle of Valcour and the September 11, 1814 Battle of Plattsburgh. A diorama created for the nation’s bicentennial in 1976 by Arto Monaco and donated to CCHA by the Plattsburgh Rotary clubs depicts both battles with intricate detail. Models of two ships which fought in these battles, pieces of the legendary Royal Savage, a mirror from the Dewey Tavern which was damaged by a British Soldier, and the story of the Aikin Volunteers with Captain Martin Aikin’s commemorative rifle complete this exhibit. The gallery also covers the histories of the county involvement in the Civil War, the Plattsburgh Idea which trained many thousands of businessmen and college students for WWI, and the 1939 CMTC maneuvers which brought over 50,000 soldiers to Clinton County in 1939. A small exhibit recognizing the many contributions of Arto Monaco to our area and the world was created using donations from the collections of local residents.