Alamuchee-Bellamy CB | |
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![]() The Alamuchee-Bellamy Covered Bridge (1861) moved to the campus of the University of West Alabama in Livingston, Alabama | |
Coordinates | 32°35′37″N88°11′09″W / 32.59374°N 88.18585°W |
Carries | pedestrian traffic |
Crosses | Duck Pond (UWA) |
Locale | Livingston, Alabama |
Maintained by | Sumter County Historical Society |
ID number | 01-60-01 (WGCB) |
Characteristics | |
Design | Town lattice truss |
Total length | 88 ft (27 m) |
History | |
Construction end | 1861 |
Location | |
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The Alamuchee-Bellamy Covered Bridge is a county-owned wooden covered bridge that spans the northeast corner of Duck Pond in Sumter County, Alabama, United States. It is located on the campus of the University of West Alabama behind Reed Hall, which is off Student Union Drive in the city of Livingston.
Built in 1861, the 88-foot (27-meter) bridge is a Town's lattice truss construction over a single span. Its World Guide to Covered Bridges number is 01-60-01. The Alamuchee-Bellamy Covered Bridge is currently eligible for addition to the National Register of Historic Places. It is one of the oldest covered bridges still existing in Alabama; it is maintained by the Sumter County Historical Society.
The bridge was originally designed and constructed over the Sucarnoochee River by Confederate Army Captain William Alexander Campbell Jones on the main state road leading from Livingston to York, now U.S. Route 11 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 bridge was used as an access route to Mississippi by Confederate forces led by General Nathan Bedford Forrest.
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 (coordinates 32°31′19.75″N88°11′12.22″W / 32.5221528°N 88.1867278°W , 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. [1]
Stephen S. Renfroe, known as "Alabama's Outlaw Sheriff", was hanged near the Alamuchee-Bellamy Covered Bridge outside Livingston by locals in July 1886. [2] [3] [4] During that time, the bridge was still located over the Sucarnoochee River and not Alamuchee Creek as some sources state. [5]
Sumter County is a county located in the west central portion of Alabama. At the 2020 census, the population was 12,345. Its county seat is Livingston. Its name is in honor of General Thomas Sumter of South Carolina. The University of West Alabama is in Livingston.
Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, in the Black Belt region of south central Alabama and extending to the west. Located on the banks of the Alabama River, the city has a population of 17,971 as of the 2020 census. About 80% of the population is African-American.
Gainesville is a town in Sumter County, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1832, it was incorporated in 1835. At the 2010 census the population was 208, down from 220. Confederate Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest surrendered his men near Gainesville on May 19, 1865, at the Civil War's end.
Livingston is a city in and the county seat of Sumter County, Alabama, United States and the home of the University of West Alabama. By an act of the state legislature, it was incorporated on January 10, 1835. At the 2010 census the population was 3,485, up from 3,297 in 2000. It was named in honor of Edward Livingston, of the Livingston family of New York.
The Sucarnoochee River is a river in Kemper County, Mississippi and Sumter County, Alabama. It originates at 32.69877°N 88.48470°W, near Porterville, Mississippi, and discharges into the Tombigbee River at 32.42322°N 88.04564°W. It is 49.5 miles (79.7 km) long and drains an area of 607 square miles (1,570 km2).
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The Clarkson–Legg Covered Bridge, more simply known as Clarkson Covered Bridge, is a county-owned wooden covered bridge that spans Crooked Creek in Cullman County, Alabama, United States. It is located at Clarkson Covered Bridge Park on County Road 1043 off U.S. Route 278 near the community of Bethel, about 8 mi (13 km) west of Cullman.
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The Gilliland-Reese Covered Bridge, more simply known as Gilliland's Covered Bridge, is a locally owned wooden covered bridge that spans a small pond near Black Creek in Etowah County, Alabama, United States. It is located at Noccalula Falls Park off Noccalula Road in the city of Gadsden. Coordinates are 34°02′21.79″N86°01′26.93″W. Noccalula Falls Park is also home to the 90-foot (27 m) Noccalula Falls, part of Black Creek as it cascades down into a ravine from a ledge off Lookout Mountain. There are a couple of sources which state the bridge spans Clayton Fish Pond, but that is over a mile west of the park along a rural section of Hinds Road.
The Old Union Crossing Covered Bridge is a privately owned wood & metal combination style covered bridge that spans the West Fork of the Little River in DeKalb County, Alabama, United States. It is located on an access road between Shady Grove Dude Ranch and Cloudmont Ski & Golf Resort on Lookout Mountain, which is off County Road 614 near the town of Mentone. Coordinates are 34°32′3.51″N85°35′56.47″W.
The Oakachoy Covered Bridge, also known as the Thomas Covered Bridge, was a county-owned wooden covered bridge which spanned Oakachoy Creek in Coosa County, Alabama, United States. It was located in a remote area on the dirt portion of Newman Road off State Route 259 northeast of the community of Nixburg, about 6 miles southwest of Alexander City.
The Lidy Walker Covered Bridge, formerly known as the Big Branch Covered Bridge, was a privately owned wood-&-metal combination style covered bridge which spanned the outlet to Lidy's Lake in Cullman County, Alabama, United States. It was located in the Berlin community at a pasture near the lake off Cullman County Road 1616 near U.S. Route 278, 6 miles east of the city of Cullman.
The Tallahatchee Covered Bridge, also known as the Prickett Covered Bridge, was a privately owned wood and metal combination style covered bridge which spanned a pond near Nances Creek in Calhoun County, Alabama, United States. It was located just off State Route 9, about 2 miles south of the city of Piedmont. Approximate coordinates were 33°53′16.13″N85°37′33.70″W.
University Charter School (UCS) is a charter school in Lyon Hall, on the campus of the University of West Alabama in Livingston, Alabama.
Alamuchee Creek is a stream in the U.S. states of Alabama and Mississippi. It is a tributary to the Sucarnoochee River.