Obituary of the Ghost of Bellamy Bridge

The death of Elizabeth Jane Bellamy.

by Dale Cox

Bellamy Bridge spans the Chipola River several miles north
of Marianna, Florida. It can be reached by the Bellamy Bridge
Heritage Trail, which leaves a parking area on CR 162 just
west of the river.

The legend of the Ghost of Bellamy Bridge is one of Florida's best-known tales of the supernatural. 

For more than 120 years, the people of Jackson County have told the story of Bellamy Bridge and its haunting by the restless ghost of a young woman named Elizabeth Jane Bellamy. The story is colorful, sad, and chilling. 

There are, of course, multiple versions of the legend. The most popular is that Elizabeth died in a tragic wedding night accident after her extravagant gown somehow touched an open flame. Some say that she danced too close to a fireplace while celebrating her marriage to Dr. Samuel C. Bellamy. Others claim that the young woman accidentally toppled a candle onto her gown while resting in an upstairs room at the couple's beautiful Marianna mansion.

Caroline Lee Hentz (1800-1856) is buried at
St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Marianna.

The legend is beautiful but bears little resemblance to the truth. It actually originated from a famous 19th-century novel, Marcus Warland or the Long Moss Spring, by author Caroline Lee Hentz. This is the same book that some historians have incorrectly used to assert that Jackson Blue Spring was the model for the romantic "long moss spring." Hentz noted in the introductory material that the book is based on real events, and it is true that she spent the last years of her life in Marianna and at St. Andrew Bay. 

Unfortunately for both legends, she wrote the book while living in Columbus, Georgia, before taking up residence in Marianna. The author notes as much in the book itself. The terrible incident of the "burning bride" took place near Columbus, and the real "long moss spring" is in that vicinity as well.

This, of course, neither proves nor disproves that there is a ghost at Bellamy Bridge. The legend is older than the first claims that Elizabeth Bellamy died in a tragic fire. The earliest incarnations of the story hold simply that the area around Bellamy Bridge is haunted by the restless spirit of Elizabeth as she searches for her long-lost husband.

Family papers prove that Elizabeth actually died of fever at Rock Cave Plantation several miles northwest of Marianna. She was buried in the little family cemetery at her sister's home on Terre Bonne Plantation, near which Bellamy Bridge stands today. She had married Dr. Bellamy several years before and even had a young son, Alexander, by the time of her death.

Notices of her death appeared in numerous newspapers of the time, but the most touching was printed by the New Bern Spectator in her home state of North Carolina:

Learn more about the Ghost of Bellamy Bridge and hear the haunting song written about her in this mini-documentary from Two Egg TV:

Editor's Note: Learn the real stories behind ten great Jackson County ghost and monster legends in Dale Cox's book, The Ghost of Bellamy Bridge. It is available at Bespoken Gifts and Antiques, 4430 Lafayette Street, Marianna, Florida, and on Amazon.com.