Historic Beaufort Foundation and the City of Beaufort have announced that the Woods Memorial Bridge has been approved for listing on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Register Of Historic Places; and, in a few more months, will remain a fixture in downtown for generations to come.
HBF Executive Director Cynthia Jenkins and Beaufort Mayor Stephen Murray attended the meeting of the National Register Board at the SC State Historic Preservation Office on Saturday in Columbia for the announcement.
According to HBF, “the bridge was approved by the State Review Board on Friday for listing, but it still has to go the Keeper of the Register at the Department of Interior for final review. It will not actually be listed until that final step is completed which might take a couple of months.”
”The Woods Memorial Bridge represents so much that is the character of Beaufort. It links us to the river and to the sea islands, reminding us of the sense of place that water contributes to life in Beaufort,” said Jenkins. “Most significant to the National Landmark Historic District is the scale of the bridge in relationship to the downtown cityscape. The bridge sets the “stage” for our picture postcard image, subconsciously linking our history, our homes and our businesses to the relaxed Lowcountry lifestyle,” she added
In 2020, the city and HBF worked with the community to raise funds to hire Kyle Campbell of Preservation South to prepare the National Register Nomination. Mr. Campbell presented the nomination to the state board on Saturday. The nomination will now be sent to the Keeper of the National Register in Washington DC for listing on the register.
Back in 2020, with a forward-thinking mentality, then-Beaufort Mayor Billy Keyserling pointed out that action needs to be taken before the Bridge needs repairs and is threatened by necessary replacement options, which past studies have demonstrated are very limited and “challenge the character of our National Historic Landmark District.”
Keyserling added that the SC Department of Transportation has said, through State Rep. Shannon Erickson, that the bridge remains in good condition and it’s too early to think about replacing it, if the City were to be able to get it registered as a Historic Landmark it would provide enough time to plan for perpetual maintenance “by stockpiling parts that may need to be replaced in the future and ensuring a high level of maintenance to ensure it lasts forever.”
Success.
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 small 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.
The Harbor River Bridge was another local swing bridge, and it came down last year after the new fixed-span bridge to Hunting & Fripp Islands was completed.
Simply put, the Woods Memorial Bridge is Beaufort’s most well-recognized icon. We sure are happy that it’s receiving this historic designation. While imperfect and getting a bit long in the tooth, the Woods Memorial Bridge adds so much to Beaufort’s character and charm and is one of the reasons why our town is so special.
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