I'll be telling the true story of the Ghost of Bellamy Bridge, along with other area ghost stories to help fund guide dogs for blinded veterans. The event will begin at the Marianna High School parking lot on Caverns Road and go from there. Here's the official press release:
Ghost Storytelling To Be Hosted by Cox
On Saturday, October 23rd historian Dale Cox will tell "The True Story of the Ghost of Bellamy Bridge" and several other area ghost stories as a fund raiser for "Paws for Patriots" sponsored by Blue Springs Society, Children of the American Revolution and Chipola Chapter, NSDAR. The event will begin at 5:00 p.m. CST in front of Marianna High School at 3546 Caverns Road. A donation of $5 for adults, $3 for teenagers and $1 for children under thirteen is requested. "Paws for Patriots" provides guide dogs for blinded veterans and is a division of Southeastern Guide Dogs based in Palmetto, Florida.
Generations of youth have visited the Bellamy Bridge on dark, foggy nights to look for the ghost of the beautiful, young bride that is said to be seen as she searches for her beloved husband. Elizabeth Croom Bellamy died on May 11, 1837 and is buried near Bellamy Bridge on the Chipola River. Some have described her ghost "as a pale image in a long, white gown, moving slowly along the riverbank. Others say that she is engulfed in flames, screaming as she makes a mad dash for the nearby bridge and river. The third story holds that the ghost can be seen plunging from mid-air straight down into the waters of the Chipola."* For well over a hundred years area residents have heard the story of how Elizabeth Bellamy died from the burns she suffered when her elegant wedding gown caught fire as she danced too close to a candle at the elaborate reception after her marriage to Dr. Samuel C. Bellamy, a prominent member of early Jackson County society. However historian Dale Cox has researched the true story of Elizabeth and will tell how the legend was most certainly influenced by a novel written by Caroline Lee Hentz, who spent her later years in Marianna and is buried in the St. Luke's Episcopal Church cemetery.
To read more about area "ghosts" including the fascinating Bellamy Bridge ghost please go to http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/ghosts.html. Be sure to notice the ghostly image photographed at the Bellamy Bridge by historian Cox.
*Cox, Dale Alan. "The Ghost of Bellamy Bridge" Chapter Two. Two Egg, Florida: A Collection of Ghost Stories, Legends and Unusual Facts. Page 10.
Please contact Mary Robbins at snoopyxii60@hotmail.com or 850-209-4066 to reserve a place and for additional information about the October 23rd event.
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