Today, Ethan Allen is better known as the name of a furniture company. But he remains one of the most colorful—and enigmatic—figures of early Vermont history. The modest Cape Cod–style Ethan Allen Homestead (1 Ethan Allen Homestead Way, 802/865-4556, www.ethanallenhomestead.org, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Thurs.–Sat.; 1–4 p.m. Sun., $7, $5 seniors, children 6 and under free) has been restored to the period, though only his kitchen table and a few other small Allen artifacts survive.

Visits to the Ethan Allen Homestead include a low-budget film exploring the conflicting accounts of the man himself, as well as a guided tour of the house.

While the exhibits relating to Allen may leave a bit to be desired, the tour guides are spirited in their evocation of Vermont’s larger-than-life founding father, espousing opinions about his legacy that make him seem like a politician from the 20th century, not the 18th.

And Allen aside, the home is an excellently restored lesson in how early Americans lived. (On our tour, we learned the origins of the phrases “Pop goes the weasel” and “Sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite.” Trust us, you’re glad you didn’t live in the days of straw mattresses.)