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Chittendon
County, Vermont
(WGN
45-04-06) (WGCB VT-04-06): (1845;
moved 1951; roof re shingled 1998) A single-span double-barreled
Burr arch truss 168' over Burr Pond. Located: On the
grounds of the Shelburn Museum off US 7 in Shelburn, Vermont. Directions:
From I-89, exit 13, take I-189 north 1.4 miles to US 7. Take US 7
south and look for the bridge and the Shelburn Museum on your right.
The bridge will be seen first and the museum entrance just south of it.
When originally constructed by Farewell Wetherly at Cambridge, Vermont
in Lamoille County, the bridges trusses were assembled in a field owned
by the Gates family close to the original site. The bridge was erected
over the river the following winter on false work supported by ice.
The footbridge was attached at a later date. In 1950 the state bypassed
the bridge with a new span of concrete and steel and it was donated to
the Shelburn Museum. It was dismantled and moved to its present location
at the old entrance of the Shelburn Museum in 1951. The museum dug Burr
pond which the bridge now stands over to make the restoration complete.
It served as the museum's main entrance until the early 1970's when the
threat of traffic stresses dictated a new entrance be constructed on the
hill to the south. According to sign at the US 7 entrance, the bridge
is still used by the museum employees to get to and from work. One
of only two double-barreled bridges in Vermont (see the Pulpmill Covered
Bridge [WGN 45-01-04]), and the only one
with a attached footpath. Access to the interior of the bridge is
on the museum grounds and there is an admission fee. In
1998 it was re roofed with new cedar shingles. Dark weathered
vertical boarding covers the upstream side, the outer side of the walkway
to rail height and the portals. It is open under the eaves for ventilation.
It has four long horizontal window openings, each with cedar shingled roofs.
While in Cambridge, Vermont the bridge was also known as the Big Covered
Bridge and the Big Cambridge Covered Bridge to distinguish it
from the nearby smaller Little Covered Bridge or Little Cambridge
Covered Bridge (now Gates Farm Covered Bridge (WGN
45-08-04) in Lamoille County). Also known as the Cambridge
Covered Bridge, the Cambridge Village Covered Bridge, the Village
Covered Bridge and the Museum Covered Bridge. (Sep 2004) |
