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Lamoille
County, Vermont
(WGN
45-08-04) (WGCB VT-08-04): (1897;
moved to present location 1950; renovated 1994) (Private) A single-span
Burr arch truss 60' over the Seymour River. Located: East of
Cambridge, Vermont at the far end of a farm road. Directions:
From jct. SR 104 and SR 15 west of Cambridge, Vermont, take SR 15
0.8 mile east to where SR 15 starts to swing left. Just before the
road crosses the river stop. The bridge should be visible at the
far end of a field 0.1 mile to your right on a farm road. Built by
George Washington Holmes in 1897. During the flood of 1927, the bridge
(then known as the Little Covered Bridge) slid 20' off its foundations.
Trees prevented it from traveling further, and it was successfully put
back in place. In 1950 the state bypassed the bridge when the Seymour
River was diverted away from the highway. The new river channel ran
through a farm owned by Earl Gates, closing off sixty acres of his land.
Access was restored when the state moved the bridge from its old crossing
place over the Seymour River (very close to the original location of the
double-barreled Cambridge Covered Bridge, now know as the Shelburne
Museum Covered Bridge (WGN 45-04-06) to
the farm. Originally constructed with a covered walkway that was
removed when it was relocated and at the same time it acquired the name
of Gates Farm Covered Bridge. The bridge deteriorated over the years
at its new site on a flood plane due in part to the frequent inundations
and a lack of maintenance. In 1994 it was in need of major structural
repairs. In the fall of 1994 the bridge was removed from its abutments
and disassembled. In 1995 the bridge was renovated, raising the trusses
eighteen inches but leaving the floor in its original location by suspending
floor beams from the lower chord with steel rods, required to allow farm
machinery to pass through the bridge. Weathered vertical boards covers
the sides, portals and the weather panels inside the entrance. It is open
under the eaves for ventilation. It has a green painted steel roof.
Also known as the Little Covered Bridge, the Little Cambridge
Covered Bridge and the Seymour Covered Bridge. It was
listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 19, 1974.
(Sep 2004) |
