Rivers are great and all for boating, swimming, and fishing;
however, they pose an obstacle for anyone lacking either wings or a bridge.
Long before European settlers came to the ‘new world,’ the native peoples of
what is now Florida had to find ways to traverse the state’s many rivers. One
river, however, provided an easy path. The Santa Fe River, which runs for
approximately 75 miles across north Florida before merging with the larger
Suwannee River, goes completely underground only to emerge from the earth three
miles to the south. This, in effect, provided the native peoples of the state a
natural bridge across an otherwise difficult to traverse waterway, and the
route connecting what is now Alachua and Columbia counties became a well-trod
track. After the Spanish settled the territory, they too took advantage of this
natural bridge, creating a roadway of sorts linking the Spanish city of St.
Augustine to what is now Pensacola. This ‘road’ crossed the natural bridge over
the Santa Fe, and for a time a Spanish mission, Santa Fé de Toloca, was
located there (and from whence the river received its modern name).
In the 1820s, Florida became a US territory, and the
new American leadership began focusing on development of the Floridian economy
and infrastructure. In 1824, Congress approved funding for the first federal
highway in Florida: a road to be built from St. Augustine to Pensacola,
following the route of the old Spanish road. A plantation owner named John
Bellamy was contracted to build the St. Augustine to Tallahassee portion, and
from him that portion of the road received its name: Bellamy Road. Like its
predecessor, the Bellamy Road crossed the natural bridge over the Santa Fe
River. You can read a really interesting article about the construction of the road here.
As time passed, other routes across north Florida became
more popular and the Bellamy Road fell into disuse; however, stretches of the
road – some paved, some dirt – still remain, scattered throughout the
northeastern part of the state. Below are some images from the sections of the
road in Alachua County.
1824 - The Bellamy Road - 1952
All that remains of the St. Mary's Church, an African-American church once located at the intersections of Old Providence Road and Old Bellamy Road.
Love these photos ♥
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I live about 5 minutes from the St. Mary's church. As kids me and my friends would go and stand next to the fence and swear we would see ghost inside. But we would never dare to go across the fence because being too scared. I think it was about 4or 5 years ago when it collapsed. It is still weird passing by it and realizing its not standing anymore. It was after a tropical storm or a hurricane when it fell.
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