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Chamberlin Mill or Sawmill or Whitcomb or Wheelock, Caledonia County

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Inventory Number: VT/45-03-04
County: Caledonia County
Township: Lyndon
Town/Village:
Bridge Name: Chamberlin Mill or Sawmill or Whitcomb or Wheelock
Crosses: South Wheelock Branch, Passumpsic River
Truss type: Queen
Spans: 1
Length: 66'
Roadway Width: 16.5'
Built: 1881
Builder: W.W. Heath
When Lost: standing
Cause:
Latitude: N44 30.986
Longitude: W072 00.995
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: 0.1 miles south of jct I-91 (Exit 23) on US5, then 0.4 miles right on South Wheelock Rd. and 350 feet left on Chamberlain Bridge Rd.

Chamberlin Mill or Sawmill or Whitomb Bridge, Lyndon, Caledonia County, VT Built 1881
Bill Caswell Photo, November 2007

Chamberlin Mill or Sawmill or Whitomb Bridge, Lyndon, Caledonia County, VT Built 1881
Bill Caswell Photo, March 3, 2014

Chamberlin Mill or Sawmill or Whitomb Bridge, Lyndon, Caledonia County, VT Built 1881
Richard E. Roy Collection

Chamberlin Mill or Sawmill or Whitomb Bridge, Lyndon, Caledonia County, VT Built 1881
Bob Sheldon Photo, September 10, 2011

Chamberlin Mill or Whitomb Bridge, Lyndon, Caledonia County, VT Built 1881
Todd Clark Collection

Comments:
The area is also referred to as Lyndon Corner. The construction date is not definitely known, but an August 1881 Vermont Union article mentioned that a new abutment was being built for a new covered bridge. Ephraim Chamberlain built a gristmill in the area before 1817 and later added a sawmill. The mill carried the Chamberlain name until being purchased by Harold Whitcomb in 1905. When Whitcomb sold the mill in 1937, it reverted back to the Chamberlain name. Chamberlain Mill burned in the 1950's. The bridge has large eaves and gable overhangs to protect the exposed truss members. Based on an 1881 newspaper article, the bridge may have initially been built uncovered.

Sources:
Barna, Ed. Covered Bridges of Vermont, 1996, Pages 201-202
Nelson, Joseph C.. Spanning Time - Vermont's Covered Bridges, 1997, Pages 104-105
National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges. World Guide to Covered Bridges, 2021, page 139

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