Marshfield celebrates restoration of covered bridge
|
|
A visitor at the Martin Covered Bridge in Marshfield looks at a photographic timeline in the bridge's interior during Saturday's dedication ceremony. PHOTO BY KYLE MARTEL |
Toolbox
By Peter Hirschfeld Vermont Press Bureau - Published: July 12, 2009
MARSHFIELD – In a span of 44 feet, the people of Marshfield have bridged their past with the present.
The Martin Covered Bridge, constructed in 1890 to transport hay and other agricultural good across a winding stretch of the Winooski River, has been refurbished to its near-original glory after a years-long fund-raising effort by the residents of this Washington County community.
At a dedication ceremony Saturday afternoon, nearly 100 people turned out to see the 119-year-old pine-and-spruce structure reassume its standing as perhaps the most prominent relic of the town's agrarian past.
"I've always loved this bridge," said Nathan Phillips, a structural engineer who spent childhood summers fishing off the bridge. "I bought a nice black-and-white picture of it when I was 12 years old for $3. And I've always had it up."
Phillips and his father, Richard, spearheaded a town-wide effort to restore the bridge after the structure and 72 acres of adjoining land were donated to Marshfield in 2003.
The bridge cost $500 when Herman Townsend built it for farmer William Martin in 1890. It took nearly $300,000 worth of grants from the Vermont Housing Conservation Board and the Agency of Transportation, along with $20,000 in local fund-raising, to complete its faithful restoration.
Contractors, including Nathan Phillips' employer, DeWolfe Engineering, donated hundreds of hours of labor.
John Warshow, chairman of the Marshfield Selectboard, called the bridge a place "to remember and honor those who came before us … and reflect upon the past."
In a state well-known for its covered bridges, the Martin Covered Bridge is something of an anomaly. The structure is believed to be the only remaining covered span built solely for agricultural purposes. The bridge never connected public roads; its narrow width and high ceiling, historians said, were tailor-made for wagons piled high with hay.
The bridge is one of the few in the area to have withstood the flood of 1927.
"This is one tough little bridge," Warshow said.
The bridge, just off Route 2 near the town's border with Plainfield, has been sitting in a field since it was lifted by crane from its original granite abutments four years ago. The rebuilt structure was dropped back onto its familiar spot earlier this spring.
Bright yellow streaks of sawn pine on the bridge's otherwise dark and weathered exterior reveal the spots where contractors had to replace the original wood.
"We kept as much of the original as we could," Richard Phillips said.
For Eddie Orton, whose family owned the bridge and surrounding farm from the 1920s to the 1970s, the dedication ceremony marked an opportunity to honor his family's past. Singling out his 95-year-old mother, seated in a nearby chair, Orton said the bridge is intertwined with Marshfield's farming roots.
"As far as my mother was concerned, this bridge meant nothing but work," Orton said. "These fields were a labor of love."
10