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Some visitors to Greenville County’s Poinsett Bridge say they have seen and heard the ghost of a headless man, screams echoing through the woods, and mysterious lights. The bridge’s remote location in the mountains near the North Saluda Reservoir only adds to its eerie aura.

“People have reported unexplained car trouble when they’re trying to leave the area so there’s lots of different kinds of stories,” says Shanna Raines, the Information Services Manager at the Greenville County Library System, which has documented the bridge’s history.  

Historians say the Poinsett Bridge is the oldest bridge in South Carolina and one of the oldest in the Southeast. Its origins go back to the late 1700s and early 1800s and a desire by state leaders to improve commerce between eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina and the city of Columbia and the port of Charleston to the south.

“The early roads were very narrow. It was really difficult for moving livestock over long distances so there was a need for better mountain roads to get the goods and things they were carrying on their wagons to the market,” says Raines. 

State leaders wanted a road wide enough to accommodate those freight wagons and bridges were needed to traverse streams, so they began construction on what was known as the Saluda Mountain Road. 

“There were actually three bridges constructed in 1820 as part of this state road project, but only the Poinsett Bridge remains today,” says Raines. 

Historians believe Robert Mills designed the bridge. Mills, who was born in Charleston, was an American architect and cartographer best known for designing the first Washington Monument in Baltimore, Maryland, and the better known one in Washington, D.C.,  as well as the US Treasury Building. Some historians believe Mills was the first native-born American to be professionally trained as an architect. 

In 1820, Mills was appointed acting commissioner of South Carolina’s Board of Public Works. He designed many public buildings across the state, including a courthouse in Greenville with gothic windows like the archway of the Poinsett Bridge.

The bridge is named for Joel Poinsett, another Charleston native who served in the South Carolina legislature and US House of Representatives and was president of South Carolina’s Board of Public Works around the time the bridge was built. Poinsett served as the first US ambassador to Mexico and is the namesake of the Poinsettia, a native Mexican flower that Poinsett introduced to the United States and that remains a popular holiday decoration. 

In the 1830s, the road and the bridges became a stagecoach route carrying passengers. 

“In the years before the Civil War there were low-country planters that used this road and bridge with their families who were headed to the mountains. They were trying to get away from the heat during the summer,” says Raines.

People traveling the road had to pay a toll.

“Then as other roads were developed there was a decline in use of this particular road and some say it may have just been travelers who wanted to avoid the toll,” says Raines. 

Raines says the bridge was used until 1955, but the road was realigned so the bridge was no longer needed. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. Two centuries of history have fueled haunting stories that surround the bridge like a creeping kudzu vine. 

During the bridge’s construction many workers fell ill with what historians believe to have been malaria. There’s a legend that the body of a worker who became sick and died is buried within the bridge. There’s a story that the Irish masons who helped build the bridge return at night to admire their work. Another local legend claims the headless body of a man who was shot on the bridge in 1861 returns on nights when it rains, exactly at the stroke of midnight. 

Visitors have reported ghostly encounters that defy explanation. Some visiting at night have reported hearing screams coming out from under the bridge and odd sights like orbs and floating lights. Raines points out that the county discourages people from visiting the bridge after dark. 

Over the years the tales of ghostly encounters around Poinsett Bridge have drawn several paranormal investigators to the area and in 2019 the bridge was named one of the 30 most haunted places in America by Condé Nast Traveler magazine.

Despite the scary stories Poinsett Bridge draws locals and tourists alike to its beautiful scenery and fascinating history. Its stonework and distinctive Gothic arch with a lush, forested backdrop make the bridge subject matter for local artists and a backdrop for local photographers.

“I actually had some maternity photos taken there,” says Raines. “For me, it’s just a nice peaceful place. I love the history of it. Others probably go there for that as well.”

It’s also a setting for local filmmakers. Greenville’s FRVNT Films recently used the bridge as a backdrop for a music video and part of a documentary that tells the story of co-founder Brandon Hart’s recovery from a serious illness eight years ago. 

“We chose this location because it seems reminiscent of a period in the long renaissance I went through,” says Hart, a musician and producer.

In 2000, the Greenville County Council formed a committee to work on preserving Poinsett Bridge, and a few years later, the South Carolina Heritage Trust took over that responsibility. The trust acquired 120 acres around the bridge to create the Poinsett Bridge Heritage Preserve and in June 2024, added another 280 acres. There are plans to add hiking trails and improve accessibility, parking and signage. 

The bridge is now owned by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and maintained by Greenville County Parks Recreation and Tourism. The county is conducting an engineering assessment to determine the best ways of preserving the bridge, which has suffered some natural deterioration from weather and occasional vandalism. The study will help ensure the bridge’s longevity, along with all its spooky stories.