I was feeling nostalgic so I stopped by there today:
This is the new bridge; it's on Main St. in Jamestown, also still called by many High Point Rd. Jamestown is located straight ahead right up the road. Jamestown itself, with the Mendenhall Plantation, many old homes, abandon textile mill towns, and High Point City Lake, which has seen several murders and suicides over the years, could hold many haunts. But it's most famous haunt is Lydia's Bridge.
To get the jest of the story check out the links at the bottom of this post. Lydia is what folklorist call a "hitchhiking ghost".
The bridge is where the main Southern Railway Line, which Amtrak also uses, crosses over the road.
Spray painting the bridge has been a Ragsdale tradition for as long as the bridge has been around.
To visit Lydia's Bridge my best advice is to park in the apartment complex/neighborhood on the left just before you get to the new bridge coming from Greensboro; right after you pass Ragsdale and GTCC. Be sure to follow the signs to Main St. and Jamestown; you used to be able to go straight, but now if you go straight you'll end up at Grandover.
Be careful, the road is very busy, and the railroad is a main line so despite the graffiti I wouldn't climb up to the railroad tracks.
Park and go around to the left side of the electric substation. Be careful it's very dangerous and Duke Power has expanded it. I kept my distance from the fence. Also, the ground was very soft today due to the rain.
Coming around the corner and to the right of the substation you'll get your first look at Lydia's Bridge.
It's located just to the left of the new bridge, as seen in this picture. As you can see it's very narrow, and that's why they made the new bridge, which still seems narrow as well. Note all the Kudzu growing on the right between the two bridges. It's hard to think of two cars going through there at once, and it's easy to see why Lydia was killed in a car accident here.
The bridge looks like it's there for some type of stream or creek to run though, but it's a roadway bridge. The road is all grown over, but you can still see it under the bridge. I was going to go under it, takes some pictures, and get a picture of that plaque on the left, but the ground was really soft between where I took this picture and the bridge.
I thought this was an interesting picture because it looks like someone standing over to the right wearing a blue robe, but nobody was around when I was there. As you can see from the other pictures it's probably just Ragsdale Blue spray paint from graffiti.
The bridge used to be almost totally grown over with kudzu, but Duke Power's taken care of most of it so it doesn't reach the substation. It was very still out there today; these are two separate pictures but they look almost identical.
No sign of Lydia though....
Be careful if you go to visit around the bridges, road, railroad, and substation, least you become Lydia's companion, forever.
I plan on going back when the ground is not so wet and getting closer up pictures under the bridge and from the other side. Also, bring somebody with me since it was really creepy. Who knows maybe we'll see Lydia.
Links about Lydia:
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