Alcovy Road Bridge, Spanning Alcovy River, Covington, Newton County, GA.
The Alcovy Trestle Bridge, located in Covington, Georgia, carries a mix of historical significance, eerie legend, and tragic folklore. As you mentioned, it’s become a notable site in both popular culture and local ghost stories, with a dark and unsettling history associated with it.
The Bridge's History and Architecture
Built in the late 19th or early 20th century, the Alcovy Trestle Bridge is a historically significant structure composed of two steel bolt-connected Warren pony trusses with verticals and one pin-connected Pratt through truss. It spans 225 feet in length and 12 feet in width, supported by a timber deck. This truss bridge was one of only 73 Pratt trusses in Georgia and was the only bridge in Newton County constructed from more than one truss. While it was functional for decades, it was eventually replaced with a concrete bridge in the 1990s.
The bridge and its surroundings are shrouded by a veil of local legend and tragedy, earning it a place in the collective memory of Covington residents and beyond.
The Dark Past and Ghost Stories
The Alcovy Trestle Bridge is rumored to be the site of several lynchings in the 1940s. These horrific events were allegedly carried out by individuals who would drop the bodies from the bridge into the waters below, leaving the deaths shrouded in mystery and cruelty.
Perhaps the most poignant and chilling story associated with the bridge involves the alleged murder of a young woman. According to the legend, she was involved in an interracial love affair with a prominent white man. When she became pregnant, the affair was discovered, and she was violently beaten before being hanged from the bridge. The tragic tale is said to have left an imprint on the location, with many claiming to have seen the ghost of a young black woman—swollen belly in tow—walking up the embankment from the Alcovy River toward the road.
In addition to the woman’s apparition, there are reports of a young boy’s ghost. This boy is said to be the spirit of a local child who was tragically found dead in a clearing near the bridge. Witnesses describe seeing the boy riding his bicycle across the bridge, his posture as if he were pedaling faster, staring ahead with a distant, vacant gaze.
Today, the Alcovy Trestle Bridge is overgrown with kudzu, "The vine that ate the South."