Poinsett Bridge: Oldest Arch in the South

You are approaching one of the most quietly remarkable structures in the American Southeast. Poinsett Bridge, built in eighteen twenty, is the oldest surviving bridge in South Carolina and possibly the oldest surviving bridge in the entire southeastern United States.

The bridge spans Little Gap Creek with a fourteen-foot Gothic arch, a design choice striking for its elegance given that this was a rural mountain road in the early history of the American republic. The full structure runs one hundred thirty feet and is built from stone, its arch relying on compression to hold its shape. It has been holding for over two hundred years.

The bridge was built as part of the Old Buncombe Road, a critical early route connecting Columbia, South Carolina, to Saluda Mountain and the North Carolina highlands beyond. Merchants, drovers pushing livestock, and early settlers all passed over this stone arch on their way between the Upcountry and the Blue Ridge. The road was one of the primary corridors linking the Carolina Piedmont to the mountain west.

The bridge is named for Joel Roberts Poinsett, a South Carolina congressman, diplomat, and Secretary of War under President Martin Van Buren. Poinsett is perhaps better known today as the man who introduced the poinsettia plant to the United States from Mexico. He had a hand in a great many things.

Some architectural historians believe the bridge was designed by Robert Mills, the same South Carolina architect who designed the Washington Monument. The attribution is not confirmed, but the proportions of the arch carry the elegance associated with Mills's hand. The bridge sits within a four-hundred-acre heritage preserve, accessible on foot. No cars cross it anymore. It needs no help staying standing.