Gates Farm Covered Bridge, Cambridge Vermont

Date added: May 22, 2024

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The Gates Farm Covered Bridge, which crosses the Seymour River near the east edge of Cambridge village, is the last covered bridge supported by timber Burr arch trusses to have been built in Vermont. The bridge is one of only nine Burr truss bridges remaining in the state. George W. Holmes of nearby Jeffersonville built the Gates Farm Bridge in 1897.

Known as the Little Bridge in comparison with a longer dual-lane covered bridge which crossed the Lamoille River a few hundred feet to the north, the bridge stood on its original site until 1950. In that year the longer bridge was replaced, and the channel of the Seymour River was relocated to eliminate the crossing at the Little Bridge. The bridge then was moved a few hundred feet upstream to the east to connect two sections of the adjacent Gates farm.

The present physical setting of the bridge is essentially identical to that of its original site. The practical function of the bridge has changed from that of carrying the principal highway (Vermont Route 15) along the Lamoille River valley to that of carrying a driveway between two sections of a farm. Except for an outside walkway which was removed at the time of the relocation, the bridge remains unaltered from its condition on the original site.

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 Gates Farm Covered Bridge consists of a single span supported by two flanking timber Burr arch trusses. Each truss incorporates an arch built of two parallel arcs of single timbers, one on each side of the vertical posts and diagonal braces, and bolted together through the posts. A central segmented stringer has been tie-bolted to the underside of the floor beams for reinforcement. The structure rests on abutments built of concrete.

The Gates Farm Bridge is 82.5 feet long at floor level. The upper ends of the side walls flare outward to meet the gable ends which overhang the floor four feet at each portal. The bridge is 19.5 feet wide, and has a 16-foot roadway. The wood floor consists of planks laid on edge and parallel to the trusses.

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 sheathed with flush boards hung vertically and painted white. The portal openings have diagonal upper corners, which cover the first interior struts. The medium-pitch gable roof is covered with corrugated metal sheeting painted green.