Heritage Trust Protects State's Oldest Bridge

     South Carolina's Heritage Trust Program has protected the state's oldest surviving bridge in northern Greenville County, and the Greenville County Recreation District will use grants to fund archaeological and historical studies on the bridge, help stabilize it and develop public access. The property will be dedicated under the Heritage Trust Act, which will protect the property forever as a state heritage preserve.
   The Heritage Trust Program, a part of the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, recently spent $418,565 to purchase historic Poinsett Bridge and the surrounding 120 acres. The majority of the land, 114 acres, was acquired from Jack Parkhurst of North Carolina, and the remaining six acres were acquired from the Boy Scouts of America, which operates Camp Old Indian adjacent to the bridge. Located in an isolated area off old US 25 in northern Greenville County, the 183-year-old arched stone bridge named for Joel R. Poinsett is the oldest surviving bridge in South Carolina. Poinsett, a Charleston native, was a prominent early resident of Greenville and a U.S. ambassador to Mexico. The now-popular poinsettia flower, which Poinsett introduced to the United States from Mexico, was named for him.