Is the Alamuchee-Bellamy Covered Bridge in Livingston haunted?

Alamuchee-Bellamy Covered Bridge

I enjoy reading each month’s issue of Alabama Living magazine, especially its monthly events calendar. This calendar lists upcoming events occurring statewide, including concerts, theatrical performances, special tours, arts and crafts fairs and festivals. One such festival – Livingston’s Sucarnochee Folklife Festival – caught my eye last month, prompting my wife and I to go check it out a couple of Saturdays ago.

According to the festival’s organizers, the festival is “dedicated to the preservation and celebration of the unique life ways of Black Belt residents with demonstrations of traditional crafts including pottery, metal works, quilting and more from artists throughout the State.” The festival also includes live music, storytelling, local history tours, a quilt show and lots of food. (“Sucarnochee” is the name of a river that flows out of Mississippi and through Livingston before emptying into the Tombigbee River southwest of Demopolis.)

Prior to going to the Sucarnochee Festival, I’d never even been to Livingston before. The festival was held on the Sumter County courthouse square, a short walk from the University of West Alabama campus. To say that I was impressed by the town and the festival would be an understatement. Livingston really puts its best foot forward with this unique festival.

Before heading home, I took Crystal to see the Alamuchee-Bellamy Covered Bridge, which is located on the West Alabama campus. I had never seen this bridge in person before, but I’d read a lot about it over the years. It’s located across Duck Pond behind Reed Hall, one of the school’s dormitories.

Built in 1861, this 88-foot-long bridge is one of the oldest covered bridges in Alabama. It was originally built over the Sucarnochee River on the main road between Livingston and York. In 1971, the bridge was moved to its present location by the Sumter County Historical Society, which maintains the bridge today.

Like many old covered bridges, there are a number of ghost stories attached to the Alamuchee-Bellamy bridge. One of the best known has to do with Stephen S. Renfroe, who was known as the “Outlaw Sheriff of Sumter County.” Renfroe was hanged from the bridge by vigilantes in July 1886 for his involvement in a handful of local murders and a long list of other unsavory crimes.

In the years since, even though the bridge has been moved from its original site, many claim to have seen Renfroe’s ghost at the Alamuchee-Bellamy bridge. Some have described him as a dark shadow pacing the bridge, while others say that they’ve seen him on horseback. Others claim to have seen a ghostly face in the windows of the bridge, causing them to wonder if it’s the ghost of the old “Outlaw Sheriff.”

David Higdon and Brett Talley also recount this story in their book, “Haunted Alabama Black Belt,” saying that the “night does not rest easy around the old covered bridge. A figure is seen walking its length, one that is as insubstantial as it is paranormal – a shadow wreathed in darkness. They even say that there’s a black-and-white cat that stalks the bridge, vanishing into nothing. And always there is a feeling of cold and emptiness, as if there is no life on the bridge, no hope. Only death.”

In the end, Crystal and I enjoyed our trip to the Sucarnochee Folklife Festival, and if you get the chance to go to next year’s festival, I highly recommend it. While there, if you’ve got the time, take a few minutes to visit the Alamuchee-Bellamy Covered Bridge. More than likely, you won’t see anything out of the ordinary, but who knows, you might get the chance to meet what’s left of the old “Outlaw Sheriff” face to face.