Little Covered Bridge (Original)

Cambridge, VT
WGN Number: 45-08-04x

This bridge was originally built as the Little Bridge over the Seymour River by George Washington Holmes in 1897. The 1927 flood caused the bridge "to float 20 feet downstream but (it) was stopped by trees along the bank from traveling further". The bridge was brought back and placed in its original location. ¹ ²

Following the replacement of the Cambridge Covered Bridge, "...state highway engineers decided to change the course of the Seymour River to empty upsteam of the new bridge" ². This change caused the Little Bridge become obsolete. Unfortunately, the nearby Gates Farm also "lost access to their farmland" ¹. The bridge "was moved in 1950 to restore the Earl Gate family's access to their farmland" ². Ed Barna notes that this was the bridge "that the Shelburne Museum didn't want...". (Barna, E. (1996) Covered Bridges of Vermont. Woodstock, Vermont: The Countryman Press pg.77)

An article by Bob Moore in the 2006 Winter Bridger newsletter discusses the highway and bridge rearrangement in detail.

The Covered Spans of Yesteryear website notes that "By 1994 it was in need of major structural repairs. The bridge was completely rebuilt in 1995".

Footnotes:

1. Covered Spans of Yesteryear website
2. Covered Bridges of Vermont (Barna, E. (1996) Covered Bridges of Vermont. Woodstock, Vermont: The Countryman Press)

Little Covered Bridge Vital Statistics

Credits: All pictures, information and descriptions are taken from Spanning Time Vermont's Covered Bridges by Joseph C. Nelson ©1997 and the World Guide to Covered Bridges - 2009 unless otherwise specified.