Aerial survey · USDA NAIP · public domainA 3.6-mile rural road in St. Francois County crossing former Native American land over Big River, where a replaced steel suspension bridge and a cluster of overlapping ghost legends have made it one of southeastern Missouri's most visited dark-tourism roads.
Upper Blackwell Road, Blackwell, MO 63626
Research updated May 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Public county road; free.
Access
Limited Access
Paved rural road; bridge over Big River. No trail infrastructure.
Equipment
Photos OK
Black Tram Bridge was a notable steel suspension structure over Big River before replacement · Road documented in Rootsweb St. Francois County history archives and Daily Journal Online regional coverage · Crossing of a Big River corridor with documented prehistoric Native American occupation
Upper Blackwell Road connects Highway E, a few miles outside Bonne Terre in St. Francois County, with the small community of Blackwell, situated on the Big River. St. Francois County was part of the extensive lead-mining district of southeast Missouri, and the Big River corridor has been occupied and used since prehistoric times, with multiple documented Native American sites in the broader watershed.
The Black Tram Bridge — a steel suspension bridge that gave its name to the local ghost legend — was for decades the visual centerpiece of the road. The bridge has since been demolished and replaced with a concrete structure, though the location retains its legendary status. The road and bridge are documented in the Rootsweb St. Francois County history site and the Daily Journal Online's St. Francois County hauntings feature, which are independent regional sources.
No disappearances, Satanic activity, or specific violent incidents have been independently verified on Upper Blackwell Road. The 'disappearances' claim in the Shadowlands submission is not supported by news records or law enforcement reports located in this research.
Sources
The Black Tram Bridge legend cluster is documented in the Rootsweb St. Francois County history archive, 101 the Eagle radio, and the ancestral findings American Folklore Missouri feature — multiple independent sources for this southeastern Missouri road. The most widely circulated element is the three-headlight-flash test: drivers who flash their lights three times crossing the bridge report being pursued by a ghost car that vanishes. This specific legend type is regionally common, but the Blackwell version is among the best-documented in Missouri sources.
A second tradition involves a young couple reported killed in a vehicle accident in the 1950s, whose apparitions are seen walking the road and attempting to flag down passing cars — only to disappear when a vehicle stops. The Rootsweb documentation notes this legend has been circulating in the Bonne Terre–Blackwell community for generations.
A third element — drumming heard from under the bridge — is attributed to the road's location on former Native American land. The Big River watershed has documented prehistoric and historic Native American activity, giving this element more plausible cultural grounding than the disappearances and Satanism claims in the Shadowlands submission.
The Shadowlands submission also references Satanic practices at a restaurant on the road and frequent disappearances. No independent documentation exists for either claim, and they are treated here as unverified folklore additions.
Notable Entities
Drive the 3.6-mile road from Highway E outside Bonne Terre to the Black Tram Bridge crossing of Big River. The original steel suspension bridge has been replaced; the concrete replacement sits at the same crossing. The road is documented in multiple independent St. Francois County history and folklore sources.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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