A few miles north of Marianna, the Chipola River flows silently beneath the rusting framework of an old iron bridge. Historic in its own right, Bellamy Bridge is one of the last surviving such tructures in Jackson County. It takes its name from previous spans that crossed the river at this point, but it is undoubtedly best known as the centerpiece of a fascinating Florida legend.

The Bellamy Bridge ghost story is Jackson County's most enduring legend. Several residents of the county, all in their eighties and nineties, indicated in 1986 that they were told the story by their parents, who had heard it from their own fathers and mothers. This would date the origin of the legend to at least the late 19th century. The story also first began to appear in print at about the same time, indicating that it was common knowledge by the beginning of the 20th century. This is a reasonable timetable, since the legend revolves around a young woman named Elizabeth Jane Bellamy, who died in 1837. Her overgrown and often-vandalized grave is a few hundred yards south of Bellamy Bridge in the edge of the river swamp.