Gates Farm Covered Bridge

The Gates Farm Covered Bridge is a covered bridge that crosses the Seymour River off State Route 15 in Cambridge, Vermont. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.^[1]

The bridge is of Burr arch design, built by George W. Holmes.

Recent history

The Seymour River originally emptied into the Lamoille River further upstream of where it does currently. A bridge called the Little Covered Bridge crossed the Seymour River close by to where the Cambridge Covered Bridge crossed the Lamoille River, both of them on the same highway (Vermont Route 15). In 1950, the Seymour River's course was changed so that it no longer crossed the highway and instead emptied downstream of the Cambridge Bridge, making the Little Bridge unneeded. In diverting the river, the Gates family farm became separated from its fields by the new course of the river. The Little Bridge was moved to the Gates farm property over the new course of the Seymour River to restore access to the farm's fields. At that time it then became known as the Gates Farm Covered Bridge.^[2] (Incidentally, the Cambridge Covered Bridge was moved and became the Shelburne Museum Covered Bridge).

In 1994, after years of neglect, and its new location in a flood plain, the bridge suffered deterioration and was removed from its abutments. In 1995 it was restored, in the process making the interior clearance 18 inches higher to allow larger farm equipment to pass through.^{[n 1]}

Notes

1. ^ More information is needed about this restoration.

References