Museum Covered Bridge
Shelburne, VT
WGN Number: 45-04-06
Photo by Scott Wagner © 2006
When the state made plans to replace the double-lane Cambridge "Big Bridge", Mrs. J. Watson Webb asked the highway department to donate the old bridge to the Shelburne Museum. It has served as the entrance to the museum since 1951.
The Covered Spans of Yesteryear website provides the following historical background information:
This bridge was "formerly VT-08-22. When originally constructed by Farewell Wetherly at Cambridge, Vermont in Lamoille County, the bridge’s 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 Shelburne Museum. It was dismantled and moved to its present location at the old entrance of the Shelburne 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. 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."
The Winter 2006 edition of the Bridger newsletter provides some additional background information of the bridge removal project.
Museum Covered Bridge Vital Statistics
| Town: | Shelburne |
| Location: | Shelburne Museum |
| Crossing: | Burr Pond |
| Date: | 1845 |
| Builder: | Farewell Wetherby |
| Truss Type: | Multiple King with Burr Arch |
| Truss Length: | 163 feet |
| Date Moved: | 1951 |
| Other Names: | Cambridge Village |
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.
