The Ghost of Bellamy Bridge Traditional Cache
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The Ghost of Bellamy Bridge
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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Bellamy Bridge Heritage Trail
1/2 mile walk that's open during daylight hours.
THE LEGEND
As the story goes, Elizabeth was the beautiful young daughter
of a wealthy North Carolina planter. She fell madly in love with a
dashing young doctor from her home state named Samuel C.
Bellamy. Her sister had already married Samuel's bother, Dr.
Edward C. Bellamy.
After a prolonged courtship of the time enjoyed in that day and
age by the young people of the planting aristocracy, the
couple's engagement and wedding plans were announced.
According to the legend, Samuel and Elizabeth - along with Ann
and Edward - had already decided to move to Florida and it was
there that Samuel built a magnificent mansion as a wedding
gift for his young bride. She was so taken with the home that
she asked if they could be wed in its rose gardens. Samuel
agreed.
The wedding took place, according to tradition, on May 11,
1837. Surrounded by the roses of the beautiful garden,
Elizabeth supposedly ended her vows with an extra line, "I will
love you always and forever. Never will I leave you."
The couple and guests retired inside the mansion for a
magnificent reception and ball. There was dancing, music,
food, drink and something for everyone. As was the custom of
the day, however, Elizabeth soon excused herself and retired
upstairs to the master's suite to rest. She sank down into a
cushioned chair and, surrounded by her luxurious gown, fell
soundly asleep.
The story-tellers say that while she was sleeping, her arm
knocked over a candelabra. Elizabeth awakened suddenly to
sensations of intense heat, light and pain.
Downstairs the party was in full swing when her shrieks were
suddenly heard from upstairs. As everyone turned to look, the
young woman came running down the staircase, engulfed in
flame from her head to her toe. Her husband and others tried to
save her, but she was so badly burned that she lingered only a
few days before passing away. Her last words, according to
legend, were "I will love you always and forever. Never will I
leave you.
Elizabeth, the story continues, was true to her promise. When a
depressed and alcoholic Dr. Samuel C. Bellamy took his own
life in Chattahoochee 15 years later, she rose from her grave
expecting to join with him to continue their journey together to
paradise. But Samuel never came.
Suicide victims in that day and age were not given status in the
church and he was buried in an unmarked grave in
Chattahoochee and forgotten. Elizabeth, believers say, walks
the swamps around Bellamy Bridge to this day in search of her
true love.
THE CACHE
PLEASE rehide the cache with plenty of camo and up high.
So that muggles and flood waters can not reach the cache.
ENJOY and take a pic with the bride!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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