Cooley's Bridge
The original Cooley’s Bridge, built across the Saluda River in 1835-36 to replace a ferry, stood about 150 yds. above the present bridge over S.C. Hwy. 247. It was built for Hiram Cooley (ca. 1796-1864), a cotton planter who owned more than 1600 acres and operated a cotton gin and grist mill nearby. His house, built about 1830, was just NE of the present bridge; it burned in 1983.
This part of southwestern Greenville County was officially Dunklin Township in the late 19th century but has long been called “Possum Kingdom.” Several bridges over the river here have been washed away by floods and replaced. A steel through truss bridge was built on the site of the original Cooley’s Bridge in 1896-97. The present concrete highway bridge was built here in 2000.
Where it stands. Cooley Bridge Rd. (S.C. Hwy. 247) just NE of the Saluda River, Possum Kingdown community, NE of Belton, Belton