In a town full of historic places and scenic spots, perhaps Beaufort’s most popular landmark is the Woods Memorial Bridge connecting downtown Beaufort to the sea islands.
The original bridge to the islands was also a swing bridge and was built in 1927. Before that, the only way to reach Lady’s Island, St. Helena Island and the rest of the sea islands was by boat.
The current swing bridge was opened on December 17th, 1959 and is named in memory of Richard V. Woods (1935–1969), who was a South Carolina Highway Patrol officer killed in the line of duty.
Different from a draw bridge which opens in the center and pulls upward, she’s one of only a handful of swing bridges in South Carolina still in use today.
The Woods Memorial Bridge swings on its central axis to open for boat traffic that may be too tall to clear the bridge, and has an operator’s station in the center of the span from which an attendant can operate the bridge.
See it in action…
It stood in for a bridge over the Mississippi River in the popular film, Forrest Gump and is one of the most photographed of all of Beaufort’s landmarks.
Visitor’s to town often stand at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park in awe of the way the bridge swings open to let a passing boat through.
With the replacement of the Harbor Island swing bridge completed, rumors are floating around that this one is next.
We surely hope not. While imperfect and getting a bit long in the tooth, the woods Bridge adds so much to Beaufort’s character and charm and is one of the reasons why our town is so special. In fact, the City of Beaufort has launched a plan to protect it.
