Poinsett Bridge is the oldest bridge in South Carolina and perhaps in the entire southeastern United States.[2][3] Named for
Joel Roberts Poinsett, it was built in 1820 as part of a road from
Columbia, South Carolina, to Saluda Mountain.[4][5] The stone bridge, which includes a 14-foot (4.3 m) Gothic arch and stretches 130 feet (40 m) over Little Gap Creek, may have been designed by
Robert Mills, architect of the
Washington Monument.[6] Though no longer in use, the bridge remains largely intact[7][8] and is part of the 120-acre (48.6 ha) Poinsett Bridge Heritage Preserve. There is a nature trail a few hundred yards from the bridge.[3][9] The bridge, about which ghost stories have been told for decades,[10] is located off
U.S. Highway 25 north of
Greenville, South Carolina.[11] The bridge was added to the
National Register of Historic Places in 1970.[1]
^"Poinsett Bridge". Greenville County Recreation District. The
Tulane University library has a brush drawing by Mills of a similar bridge, lending credence to the belief that Mills designed it.
^Edgar, Walter, ed. (2006). The South Carolina Encyclopedia. University of South Carolina Press. pp. 739–740.
ISBN1-57003-598-9.
^"The History and Haunting of Poinsett Bridge," Library Now (Greenville County Library System), Fall 2021, 8-10.
^After passing
South Carolina Highway 11, turn right onto Old US 25. Then turn right onto Callahan Mountain Road near North Saluda Reservoir. Poinsett Bridge is on the left side of Callahan Mountain Road.