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Documenting North America's past & present covered bridges

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Coburn or Cemetery, Washington County

If you find errors in the data please contact Bill Caswell.

If you would like to provide information on covered bridges that no longer exist from your state, or adopt a state to work on, we would certainly welcome your assistance. Please contact Trish Kane for more information.

Inventory Number: VT/45-12-02
County: Washington County
Township: East Montpelier
Town/Village:
Bridge Name: Coburn or Cemetery
Crosses: Winooski River
Truss type: Queen & King
Spans: 1
Length: 69'
Roadway Width:
Built: 1851
Builder: Larned Coburn
When Lost: standing
Cause:
Latitude: N44 16.850
Longitude: W072 27.251
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: 2.0 miles east of jct VT14 on US2, then 0.6 miles left on Coburn Rd.

Coburn or Cemetery Bridge, East Montpelier, Washington County, VT Built 1851
Bill Caswell Photo, September 1985

Coburn or Cemetery Bridge, East Montpelier, Washington County, VT Built 1840s
Richard E. Roy Collection

Coburn or Cemetery Bridge, East Montpelier, Washington County, VT Built 1851
Bob Sheldon Photo, September 9, 2011

Coburn or Cemetery Bridge, East Montpelier, Washington County, VT Built 1851
Todd Clark Collection

Comments:
The bridge was built by Larned Coburn who settled in East Montpelier in 1830. The Coburn family lived adjacent to the bridge for over 100 years. Extensive repairs were done in 1960 and 1961 after it was discovered that the west end had sagged 9 inches due to rotting timbers. The 1960 Times-Argus article states that it was constructed in 1852. The bridge was reconstructed in 1972 when the wooden deck was replaced with a self-supporting concrete slab. Now, the truss only supports itself.

Sources:
The Times-Argus, November 10, 1960
Nelson, Joseph C.. Spanning Time - Vermont's Covered Bridges, 1997, Pages 117-118
Conwill, Joseph D.. Images of America - Vermont Covered Bridges, 2004, page 91
National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges. World Guide to Covered Bridges, 2021, page 148

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If the intended use is beyond these purposes, it is the responsibility of the user to obtain the appropriate permissions from the owner stated in the image's credits.