Baumgardner Bridge

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A small bridge on Roan Road (State Route 143) in Roan Mountain State Park is said to be haunted by ghost that tries to steal limbs from passersbys.

In Latchpins of the Lost Cove, author Malone Young writes that the ghost is of a unnamed sawmill operator who in the late 1800s was crushed to death by a boiler. When his body was found, one of his legs was found severed.

Young writes that a man named Shobe Ledford was almost a victim of the ghost. Shobe was on horseback on his way home late one evening after escorting his uncle to the railroad station. A mysterious fog coalesced on the bridge as he approached. He charged through it and did not slow down until he reached his house. When he looked down, he saw his boot was missing.

Another victim was “Uncle Peg” Shingleton who had already lost his right leg in an accident. Community members called him “Uncle Peg” because he had a peg leg. When he stepped onto the bridge, the ghost grabbed his leg. He stumbled off of the bridge, missing his wooden leg.

Perhaps encounters with this ghost are so rare because very few people walk across the small bridge, especially at night.