For many who grew up living in or visiting Montreat, the stone architecture around town represented the “unique” nature of the small mountain town.
The stonework is evident in Montreat, whether it be passing through the gate or over one of the bridges.
After Tropical Storm Helene hit Western North Carolina in September 2024, lives were lost and infrastructure was badly damaged.
Though the bridges in Montreat are now structurally sound after the storm, the iconic stonework on many of the bridges has been washed away. A committee has been formed by the town of Montreat to raise funds for and facilitate the restoration of six stone bridges around town.
Mari Gramling, who serves as secretary of the Stone Bridges Advisory Committee and chair of the subcommittee for promotion, said the bridges have bene in disrepair even before Helene.
“I’m a fourth generation Montreater,” Gramling said. “Those bridges when I was a child were beautiful and over time I’ve watched them get less and less beautiful as the stone has fallen off and been knocked off and maybe even picked off.”
For Gramling, the stone bridges are part of what makes Montreat unique.
“For me, it’s really important to preserve Montreat’s history and our culture because Montreat’s kind of a unique culture being a unique sort of town,” Gramling said. “That’s why it’s so important to me is that I want to preserve what I grew up with and create more of it.”
Beth Casper, chair of the Stone Bridges Advisory Committee, said her love of Montreat led her to want to be involved with the restoration of these bridges.
“I’ve grown up all my summers in Montreat and have a real love for the history that this place brings,” Casper said. “Here I learned about independence and freedom and safety. My faith was enriched, all of those things.”
She said the bridges were originally built 100 years ago in response to flooding. Stone was taken from the creek that runs through Montreat and used to build the bridges, along with other buildings in the town.
Because these bridges were damaged during Helene, the Federal Emergency Management Agency ensured the bridges were structurally sound. The Stone Bridges Advisory Committee is working to make aesthetic restorations to the bridges.
“We want to embrace the craftsmanship that we inherited and rebuild the bridges in a way that they’re clad again in the stones and much like the style of the 1920s bridges,” Casper said.
Casper said the project is still accepting bids to do the work, but she estimates the project to restore all six bridges will cost between $500,000 and $600,000. So far, $100,000 has been raised from all private donations. She said this is enough funding to start work on one of the bridges, the Lookout Road bridge, at the end of August or early September. Casper said this timing was chosen so as not to interfere with Montreat Conference Center summer activities.
Casper said she has been working to let the people who live and visit Montreat from across the country know about the project and try to get donations to help in the efforts.
“People are excited and they’re motivated,” Casper said. “They’d like to see that old style brought back and reflect our history.”
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Karrigan Monk is the Swannanoa Valley communities reporter for Black Mountain News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at .