Martin Covered Bridge

About

The Martin Covered Bridge crosses the Winooski River in southern Marshfield, on the east side of U.S. Route 2 about a mile north of Plainfield village. It is a single-span queenpost truss bridge, 45 feet long, built about 1890. It originally carried a private farm road and is now open only to pedestrians. It is also known as the Orton or Orton Farm bridge.

History

Local bridgewright Herman Townsend built the bridge around 1890. It is named for an early Marshfield settler who farmed the land, and the author Joe Nelson called it the only original covered farm bridge left in Vermont. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 9, 1974. A 2003 engineering evaluation found rot in the bottom chord and other structural problems, and the bridge was removed in 2004 and stored in a nearby field while funding was raised. After five years of planning, fundraising and a land deal, Building Heritage of Huntington completed its restoration in 2009, and it was returned to its original site as part of Martin Bridge Park.

Design

The queenpost truss uses two vertical posts joined by a horizontal beam. The bridge is 12.5 feet wide overall with a 10.5-foot roadway.

Visiting

The bridge is in Martin Bridge Park, off U.S. Route 2 in Marshfield. It is open to pedestrians only.

Sources: Martin Covered Bridge (Wikipedia), Martin Covered Bridge (Vermont Covered Bridge Society)

Photo: Dougtone, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.