Poinsett Bridge Heritage Preserve comprises 120 acres and contains Poinsett Bridge, a 183-year-old arched stone bridge named for Joel R. Poinsett. It is believed to be the oldest surviving bridge in South Carolina. Poinsett, a Charleston native, was a prominent early resident of Greenville and a U.S. ambassador to Mexico. The poinsettia flower, which Poinsett introduced to the United States from Mexico, was named for him. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Poinsett Bridge was part of the State Road from Charleston through Columbia to North Carolina designed in 1817-19 by Poinsett, then director of the South Carolina Board of Public Works. Robert Mills, architect of the Washington Monument and many significant South Carolina buildings, may have designed Poinsett Bridge.
Parking and picnic areas and an interpretive walking trail are planned for the site.