This is one of the oldest remaining covered bridges in Alabama. It was originally constructed across the Sucarnoochee River on the main state road leading from Livingston to York, now U.S. Highway 11. The bridge was built in 1861 under the orders of Confederate Army Captain William Alexander Campbell Jones. It was constructed using hand-hewn yellow pine timbers joined together with large wooden pegs. During the Civil War, the bridge was used as an access route to Mississippi by Confederate forces.
A concrete bridge replaced the Covered Bridge in 1924, and it was disassembled and moved 5 miles south and placed across Alamuchee Creek on the old Bellamy-Livingston Road (now CR 13). The bridge remained in service to motor traffic until 1958 when it was once again replaced by a concrete bridge. While the construction of the new bridge was underway, a log truck crossing the Covered Bridge broke through the decayed floor. As a result, the old Covered Bridge was permanently closed at that site.
The Sumter County Historical Society came to the rescue of the old Covered Bridge. After being moved from Alamuchee Creek back to Livingston, the old bridge was fully restored and placed across the northeast end of Duck Pond at the University of West Alabama during 1969-1971.
The Covered 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.
References: 1) Wikipedia (Alamuchee-Bellamy Covered Bridge); 2) “Sumter County’s Covered Bridge” Historical Marker; 3) “The Covered Bridge” Visitor Brochure, prepared by the Sumter County Historical Society.
