About

The Chamberlin Mill Covered Bridge, also called the Chamberlin, Whitcomb and Sawmill bridge, carries Chamberlin Bridge Road over the South Wheelock Branch of the Passumpsic River in Lyndon, linking York Street and South Wheelock Road west of US Route 5. It is a single-span queenpost truss bridge 66 feet long and is one of five town-owned covered bridges in Lyndon. It is open to vehicles and still gets daily use.

History

The bridge's exact age is unknown. An August 1881 account in the Vermont Union describes the existing open span getting a new abutment and being made into a covered bridge, with W. W. Heath as superintendent. It was one of the few spans in the area not carried away in the 1927 flood. A new steel roof was installed in summer 2002 under the state roof replacement program. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 30, 1974. The mill it was named for is gone, though its foundation remains. In 2025 the Vermont Agency of Transportation held a local concerns meeting on the bridge's condition and possible renovation options.

Design

The queenpost truss uses two vertical posts joined by a horizontal beam, a common choice for medium spans. This bridge also has iron suspension rods and lateral tie rods, painted white trusses and gables, and half-height sides.