The Alamuchee-Bellamy Covered Bridge is a county-owned wooden

covered bridge A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...

that spans the northeast corner of Duck Pond in

Sumter County, Alabama Sumter County is a county located in the west central portion of Alabama."ACES Winston County Office" (links/history), Alabama Cooperative Extension System (ACES), 2007, webpageACES-Sumter At the 2020 census, the population was 12,345. Its co ...

, United States. It is located on the campus of the

University of West Alabama The University of West Alabama (UWA) is a public university in Livingston, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1835, the school began as a church-supported school for young women called "Livingston Female Academy". The university serves students ...

behind Reed Hall, which is off Student Union Drive in the city of

Livingston Livingston or Livingstonemay refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North Am ...

. Built in 1861, the 88-foot (27-meter) bridge is a Town's

lattice truss A lattice truss bridge is a form of truss bridge that uses many small, closely spaced diagonal elements forming a lattice. The design was patented in 1820 by architect Ithiel Town. Originally a means of erecting a substantial bridge from mere p ...

construction over a single span. Its

World Guide to Covered Bridges The ''World Guide to Covered Bridges'' is published by the National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges (NSPCB). It uses a covered bridge numbering system developed by John Diehl, the chairman of the Ohio Covered Bridge Committee. T ...

number is 01-60-01. The Alamuchee-Bellamy Covered Bridge is currently eligible for addition to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. It is one of the oldest covered bridges still existing in Alabama; it is maintained by the Sumter County Historical Society.

History

The bridge was originally designed and constructed over the

Sucarnoochee River The Sucarnoochee River is a river in Kemper County, Mississippi and Sumter County, Alabama. It originates at , near Porterville, Mississippi, and discharges into the Tombigbee River at . It is long and drains an area of . ''Sucarnoochee'' is a ...

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

William Alexander Campbell Jones on the main state road leading from Livingston to

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, now

U.S. Route 11 U.S. Route 11 or U.S. Highway 11 (US 11) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway extending across the eastern U.S. The southern terminus of the route is at US 90 in Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refu ...

just south of Livingston. It was built using hand-hewn yellow pine timbers joined together with large wooden pegs. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, the bridge was used as an access route to

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

by Confederate forces led by

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Nathan Bedford Forrest Nathan Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821October 29, 1877) was an List of slave traders of the United States, American slave trader, active in the lower Mississippi River valley, who served as a General officers in the Confederate States Army, Con ...

. A concrete bridge replaced the Alamuchee-Bellamy Covered Bridge in 1924, and it was moved 5 miles (8 km) south to the old Bellamy-Livingston Road (now Bennett 13 Road, CR 13) over

Alamuchee Creek Alamuchee Creek is a stream in the U.S. states of Alabama and Mississippi. It is a tributary to the Sucarnoochee River. ''Alamuchee'' most likely is a name derived from the Choctaw language meaning roughly "hiding place". Variant names are "Alam ...

(coordinates , or 32.522153, -88.186728), soon given the name "Alamuchee Covered Bridge". The bridge remained in service to motor traffic until 1958, when it was once again replaced by a concrete bridge. During that time, a logging truck being used to haul timbers from the construction site accidentally crashed into the bottom of the covered bridge. As a result, the Alamuchee-Bellamy Covered Bridge was permanently closed and left unmaintained. In 1971, the Sumter County Historical Society came to the rescue and fully restored the damaged bridge. It was moved from Alamuchee Creek back into Livingston and placed over Duck Pond at what is now the University of West Alabama. The bridge now serves as a campus access route for college students and also attracts visitors from various places to a longstanding piece of history in Sumter County. It has been made wheelchair accessible, and also has lights inside the bridge for nighttime illumination. The covered bridge underwent restoration in early 2017.''The Black Belt Connection'', ''Covered bridge receives facelift'', The Division of Economic Development and Outreach at The University of West Alabama, February 2017
Retrieved May 3, 2017.

Famous Alabama hanging

Stephen S. Renfroe, known as "Alabama's Outlaw Sheriff", was hanged near the Alamuchee-Bellamy Covered Bridge outside Livingston by locals in July 1886.
Retrieved May 3, 2017. ttps://www.angelfire.com/al2/bcampbell/bridge.html ''https://www.angelfire.com/al2/bcampbell/bridge.html'', Brad Campbell's Pages of Genealogy & History Retrieved May 3, 2017.AL.com, ''Preserving the romance of Alabama's historical covered bridges'' by Kelly Kazek, July 18, 2013
Retrieved May 3, 2017. During that time, the bridge was still located over the Sucarnoochee River and not Alamuchee Creek as some sources state.''Bridges to the Past'' by Max Shores, June 2, 2013
Retrieved May 3, 2017.

References

{{reflist

External links

Bridges to the Past: Alabama's Covered Bridges
Covered bridges in Alabama Bridges completed in 1861 Tourist attractions in Sumter County, Alabama Road bridges in Alabama Pedestrian bridges in Alabama Former road bridges in the United States 1861 establishments in Alabama Wooden bridges in Alabama Lattice truss bridges in the United States Buildings and structures in Sumter County, Alabama

History

Famous Alabama hanging

See also

References

Further reading

External links