Trifter

 If you were to travel on State Road 69 in the northwest Florida panhandle, turn onto Green Road and not blink you would see the community of Two Egg, Florida.  It’s not very much to look at now but it’s enough to have been placed on the official state map back in 1940.

It was originally named Allison in honor of its only industry, the Allison family sawmill.  During its heyday there were two general stores situated right across the street from one another.  Neither remain open today but one is said to be the catalyst for the town’s unusual name.

According to old timers, times were hard during the Great Depression of the thirties and surrounding residents often bartered what they could for merchandise from the stores in Allison.  A couple of boys were said to have brought two hen eggs in to trade for a small amount of sugar upon which the storekeeper reportedly said, “This ain’t nothing but a two egg town.”  A travelling salesman overheard the comment, passed it along, and the name held.

If you go, take along your camera.  The stores are still standing and they are photogenic and so is the Bellamy Bridge which spans the nearby Chipola River.  It’s one of the few such iron bridges still in existance in the state today.  It’s also the home of the resident ghost although I don’t believe anyone has ever photographed her.

The haunting of the bridge and nearby riverside goes back beyond the turn of the last century.  There have been no recent sightings to my knowledge but tales handed down through the years tell of  a young Elizabeth Bellamy, new bride of Dr. Sam Bellamy, caught her  gown on fire with a candle on her wedding night, burned to death and was buried in the family plot near the bridge.  That’s the legend.  She in fact did die at the age of 18 but not on her wedding night but shortly after giving birth to a son.  She perished from malaria as did her child a week later.

A detailed account of the little village with it haunted bridge and the Bellamy family is available in a book by Dale Cox at www.twoeggfla.com/bellamy.