The Camelback Bridge

A historic stone bridge crosses a creek within a hidden forest in Georgia

By Elizabeth Poland Shugg

A stone bridge crosses over Boulder Creek in Athens, Georgia, just off the Atlanta Highway, within a hidden forest. Known as the Camelback Bridge, this historic structure sits on property originally purchased in 1910 by Charles Alden Rowland II as a summer refuge for his family.

Rowland named the property Beech Haven thanks to its plentiful beech trees, and built a summer house there with the help of his wife, Effie Whitehead Rowland, who designed the home’s blueprint. Just downhill from the summer house, Rowland’s oldest son, Hampton, constructed the Camelback Bridge using stones from the property to mimic the landscape architecture his father had observed in Southeast Asia. Charles Alden Rowland II had admired the gardens in China, Japan, and Korea during his travels there as a Presbyterian missionary during the early 1900s.

Now part of land sold by descendants of the Rowland family to the Athens-Clark County Unified Government for the purpose of establishing Beech Haven Park, the bridge is one of many structures six generations of Rowland residents have enjoyed over the years.

We’re in touch with folks in Athens who will update us on the progress of this project, and will keep you updated here and in Backroad Portfolio magazine. What secret structures have you encountered during your backroad travels? Share them with us here, if you can!