This Beautiful Covered Bridge In South Carolina Will Remind You Of A Simpler Time
Campbell’s Covered Bridge is one of South Carolina’s treasures. If you haven’t traveled to Greenville County to see this marvel yet, then it’s definitely worthy of a trip. This covered bridge just may be the last one in existence in South Carolina. At the very least, it’s likely the last one that’s been so well preserved and loved.
Prior to the construction of this great resource there were several nearby towns clustered on either side of Beaverdam Creek and it could take up to a full day to travel all the way up or down stream to another bridge just to get over to the communities on the other side. Campbell's Covered Bridge cut that time down to just around an hour.
The bridge was built in 1909 and is 35-feet long and 12-feet wide. The builder, a local man named Charles Irwin Willis, wanted a rock foundation that followed the natural lay of the land. For that reason, as reported here on page five in the 2009 application for registration in the National Register of Historic Places, the bridge was purposely built as neither square nor level. At first glance you may think it "evolved" to be a little crooked over time or due to age.
Campbell's is a four-span Howe truss bridge made of wood (and metal for the roof). However, there are one-inch metal rods that tie the top trusses in with the bottom. When you visit, you can look for them as shown here in this photo.
Until 1951 Pleasant Hill Road routed right through Campbell's Covered Bridge. In 1951 Pleasant Hill Road was rerouted but the bridge remained open to local vehicular traffic.
The application for registration in the National Register of Historic Places speculated that Campbell's Covered Bridge was likely painted for the first time in 1964 when it underwent some much-needed repairs.
This famous landmark in the upstate was closed permanently to vehicular traffic in 1984. But the good news is you can still cross it on foot.
Ever wonder about the man the bridge was named for?
Ever wonder about the man the bridge was named for?
This man, Alexander Lafayette Campbell (1836-1920), was this famous bridge's namesake. Campbell was the owner of a grist mill located immediately downstream from the new bridge. Campbell owned the property where the bridge was built and was a prominent member of the community.
At the time it was built, Campbell's Covered Bridge was one of four bridges in this part of South Carolina. Others were much farther away as travel took so much longer at the start of the 1900s. Campbell's was considered the most spectacular of the four. Hey, it's still spectacular, right?
Have you ever visited Campbell’s Covered Bridge? Tell us about it in our comments. If you access the comments from Facebook you can even upload a photo in comments. We’d love to see them. Campbell’s is one of those landmarks you can’t get enough of…
OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article.
