There are so many clues in this photo that it should be the easiest mystery ever. Take advantage of the fun contest, too. Send us your guess of what and where this is – as well as your name and hometown – to feedback@statehousereport.com.
Last week’s photo, “Woodsy scene,” was the Poinsett Bridge at Poinsett Bridge Heritage Preserve in Travelers Rest.
Congratulations to everyone who correctly identified it: Jay Altman and Elizabeth Jones, both of Columbia; George Graf of Palmyra, Va.; Robert Ariail of Camden; Penny Forrester of Tallahassee, Fla.; David Lupo of Mount Pleasant; Steve Willis of Lancaster; Dan Jepson of Travelers Rest; Allan Peel of San Antonio, Texas; Bill Segars of Hartsville; and Lawrence Moore of Folly Beach.
Forrester shared that she wrote this brief history and description when she was a member of Greenville County’s Historic Preservation Commission: “Constructed in 1820, the Poinsett Bridge is one of the oldest spans extant in South Carolina. Its impressive construction of wedge shaped rocks, erected without concrete, has pointed Gothic arches that are rare in the state today.
“The bridge was part of the State Road from Charleston through Columbia to North Carolina that was designed in 1817-1819 by Joel Poinsett, director of the South Carolina Board of Public Works. The bridge was named in his honor. Poinsett also served as Secretary of War, Minister to Mexico, and first president of the National Institute for the Promotion of Science, forerunner of the Smithsonian. It is believed that Robert Mills designed the bridge. Mills became State Architect and Engineer for the South Carolina Board of Public Works in 1820. A brush drawing by Mills of a bridge with Gothic arches and keystone identical to those of Poinsett Bridge lends credence to the belief that Mills designed the bridge. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places. October 22, 1970.”
>> Send us a mystery picture. If you have a photo that you believe will stump readers, send it along (but make sure to tell us what it is because it may stump us too!) Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com and mark it as a photo submission. Thanks.
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!