Morgan Covered Bridge, Belvidere Vermont
- Categories:
- Vermont
- Covered Bridges
- Queenpost Truss
The Morgan Covered Bridge, together with one other covered wood bridge in the town of Belvidere, and three bridges of the same type in the adjoining town of Waterville, cross the North Branch of the Lamoille River within a distance of about five miles, comprising one of the most concentrated groups of covered bridges in Vermont. The five bridges are important and distinctive elements of the historic environment of the Lamoille River valley.
The covered bridges of Vermont are among its most cherished and symbolic historic resources. About one hundred of the bridges still stand in the state, the highest concentration by area of covered bridges in the United States.
Bridge Description
The Morgan Covered Bridge consists of a single span supported by two flanking timber queenpost trusses. Each truss incorporates two iron suspension rods which extend from upper apexes of the diagonal braces to the bottom chords. Iron rods also connect the upper ends of opposite vertical posts to provide lateral support. The structure rests on abutments built of irregular stone laid dry; the south abutment has been capped with concrete.
The Morgan Bridge is 62 feet long at floor level. The ends of the side walls flare outward to meet the gable ends which overhang the floor 4.5 feet at each portal. The bridge is 15 feet wide, and has a 12.5-foot roadway. The wood floor consists of planks laid flat and perpendicular to the trusses, overlaid with two transverse strips of planks for driving surfaces; it begins one foot inside the north portal and two feet inside the south portal. The approaches are concrete.
On the exterior, the timbers pegged and bolted together to form the trusses (and side walls) of the bridge are sheathed with unpainted flush boards hung vertically. Similar siding protects the ends of the trusses immediately inside the portals. The siding stops short of the eaves to leave strip openings along the tops of the walls.
The gable ends are also sheathed with unpainted flush boards hung vertically. The boards extend outward beyond the line of each side wall to form an arc under the eaves. The portal openings are framed with segmental arches. The medium-pitch gable roof is covered with corrugated metal sheeting painted black.
West elevation (1974)
