Aerial survey · USDA NAIP · public domainFM 2497 bridge where a 1970s drowning spawned East Texas's most persistent crying-baby legend
FM 2497 (approx. 16 miles northwest of Lufkin), Lufkin, TX 75904
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Free public roadside access
Access
Limited Access
Rural county road bridge and creek embankment; unpaved shoulders
Equipment
Photos OK
East Texas Folklore · Cry Baby Bridge Legend · Angelina County Dark History
Jack Creek is an unremarkable tributary of the Neches River drainage in Angelina County, but the county road bridge on FM 2497 carries one of the more durable dark-history stories in East Texas. Local radio and news coverage in Lufkin has documented the site as "Cry Baby Creek" since at least the 1990s, anchoring the legend to a specific event: a single-vehicle accident on a stormy night during the 1970s in which a woman and her infant child are said to have drowned when the car went into Jack Creek.
No contemporary newspaper account of the accident has surfaced in the available digital record, which is typical for rural Angelina County incidents of that era. The legend survives in oral tradition and has been documented by local media outlets including KFOX 95 and Kicks 105, both of which identify the FM 2497 bridge as the specific location and describe the drowning origin.
The site sits on a two-lane farm road far enough from Lufkin to feel isolated at night, which has contributed to its use as a gathering point for teenagers and paranormal enthusiasts for at least three decades. Unlike many "cry baby bridge" legends attached to no particular event, the Lufkin variant is consistently tied to this specific accident by local sources.
Sources
The two phenomena most often reported at Jack Creek Bridge are auditory and physical: the sound of a baby crying from the direction of the water, and the appearance of small handprints on vehicle windows or hoods when no one was near the car.
The handprint detail is common across "cry baby bridge" legends in Texas, but the Lufkin version is localized to this specific road crossing. KFOX 95 reported it as one of Lufkin's documented haunted sites, citing both the FM 2497 location and the drowning backstory. Kicks 105 listed it among the top five East Texas ghost stories.
Some visitors also report a generalized unease near the water at night and claim vehicles parked too close to the bridge edge behave erratically. These reports have not been independently investigated by any documented paranormal group.
Drive or walk to the FM 2497 bridge over Jack Creek at dusk or night. Local lore holds that visitors who leave their cars running and wait will hear the sound of an infant crying from the creek below, and may find handprints on their vehicle windows when they return.
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