Horace King

Stiles/Akin

Sergeant Major
Joined
Apr 1, 2016
Location
Atlanta, Georgia
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Grave of Horace King
Former slave & famed Covered Bridge Builder
LaGrange, GA


One of the most famous Covered Bridge Builders in the South is former slave, Horace King. He built over 125 Covered bridges in the South. He took part in the construction of town lattice truss bridges over nearly every major river from the Oconee in Georgia to the Tombigbee in Mississippi including nearly every crossing of the Chattahoochee River from Carroll County to Fort Gaines. The famed bridge builder started life as a slave and actually began his bridge building career while still a slave. He continued building bridges after he was freed in 1846 until his death.

I go to all of the Covered Bridges that I can. I Love them. And the name Horace King has been a constant when I have researched the Covered Bridges I have been to. Many I have been to were built by Horace King’s son, William, one by Horace himself and 1 built in his honor…BUT other than knowing Horace King was once a slave and built covered bridges with his master and was then freed…that’s about all I knew. I had never really dug in to research the man himself. Until now. Horace King, An Amazing Bridge Builder, An Amazing Man, with a pretty Amazing Story.

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This is the Grave site of Hoarce King and his son Marshall. His other family members are believed to be buried near him.

I want to share Horace’s story.

To see one of Horace King’s or his son William’s Covered Bridges, still standing…is amazing. They didn't use nails.… Just wooden pegs 1” in diameter and 10-12” long….thousands of those pegs individually nailed into intersecting wood slats…

Horace King was born a slave in the Chesterfield District of South Carolina on September 8, 1807. His father was mixed (½ white & ½ black) & his mother mixed ( ½ Catawba Indian and ½ black).

At age 22, Horace’s master died in the Winter of 1829. Horace King and his mother became the property of John Godwin, who was a South Carolina builder and bridge contractor.

John Godwin was interested in seeking his fortune in the Deep South. Particularly in the growing states of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. The nation was expanding and developing Westward. Crude roads were being built, many of which (especially Alabama) traversed rivers and streams. Godwin realized there were unlimited opportunities for an experienced bridge builder.

John Godwin was well versed in the bridge building innovations of Connecticut architect named Ithiel Town. (Ithiel Town was one of the 1st generation of professional architects in the United States. Ithiel Town designed and patented the “Town Lattice Truss” bridge design. When bridges are described as “Town Lattice Truss” they were built per Ithiel Town’s patented design). Ithiel Town came to South Carolina to supervise the construction of the bridge he had designed to span the Pee Dee River. Godwin and Horace King both were familiar with the “Town Lattice Truss” bridges before leaving South Carolina in 1832.

In March of 1832, the Treaty of Cusseta was signed, ceding the land along the Alabama and Georgia border, over to the United States. The Chattahoochee River divided the border in many places. Instead of ferries, people wanted a bridge. So, ads were put in newspapers for bids to build a bridge West of Columbus GA. John Godwin submitted a bid and it was accepted.

So, John Godwin and his slave, Horace King, moved to Columbus GA to construct the 1st public bridge over the Chattahoochee River, deemed the “Gateway to the West”. When completed, the 900 foot-long Covered Bridge designed in the “Town Lattice Truss” style, earned John Godwin and Horace King reputations as master bridge builders! This location is also where King met and married his wife Francis Thomas, a free woman, whose ancestry was similar to his own. She was part black, part Creek Indian, and part Caucasian. Because of her status as a free slave, King needed permission from his master to marry her. Without question, King gained permission from his master. (which was extremely uncommon for slave owners to allow such marriages, since one spouse’s free status meant that their children would all be born free). (Horace & Frances King produced 4 sons Washington, Marshall Ney, John Thomas, and George, all of whom became successful contractors- and one daughter, Annie Elizabeth (or Frances), who also worked in the family business).

From the beginning of their relationship, Horace King was more of a junior partner in John Godwin’s company, rather than a slave. John Godwin began to bid on and win other contracts for Covered Bridges across the Chattahoochee. He and King built a 540-foot-long bridge South of Columbus at Irwinton (now Eufaula), Alabama, for $22,000. They constructed a bridge at West Point, Georgia, in 1838-39; they built another at Tallassee, Alabama, and they may have built another at Florence, Alabama, in 1839.

Because of the superior workmanship on the bridges King built & supervised, Godwin was able to guarantee his bridges for 5 years, even against floods. And when flood-related damage did occur, Godwin took full responsibility. By the 1840’s Horace King was being pupicily acknowledad as being a “co-builder” along with Godwin. An uncommon honor for a slave.

The bridges King built and supervised contained additional intermediate chords, a feature that strengthened the trusses against twisting with age (Ithiel Town himself had tried to correct this problem by doubling the number of web members). Some of King's bridges contained pier foundations formed by combining sand with timbers of heart pine. Also improved over time were the procedures King employed in erecting or assembling-without power machinery-vast trusses over water.

By the early 1840’s Horace King’s prominence had eclipsed that of his master, John Goodwin. Horace King was working independently as architect and superintendent of major bridge projects in Columbus, Mississippi (1843) and Wetumpka, Alabama (1844).

While working on the Eufaula bridge, King met Tuscaloosa attorney and entrepreneur Robert Jemison, Jr., who soon began using King on a number of different projects in Lowndes County, Mississippi, including the 420-foot Columbus, Mississippi bridge. Jemison would remain King's friend and associate for the rest of his life. King bridged the Tallapoosa River at Tallassee, Alabama in 1845. Later that same year he built 3 small bridges for Jemison near Steens, Mississippi, where the latter owned several mills.

While King's reputation as a builder spread, his personal life prospered.

As King's fortunes rose, however, those of his master declined. By 1846 John Godwin had suffered a series of financial setbacks. Realizing that Horace King could be taken from him to settle debts with his creditors, Godwin gave Horace King his freedom. On February 3, 1846, At age 39, Horace King became a free man!

However, under Alabama law of the time, a freed slave was only allowed to remain in the state for a year after manumission. King's friend, attorney and entrepreneur Robert Jemison, Jr, who served in the Alabama State Senate, arranged for the state legislature to pass a special law giving King his freedom and exempting him from the manumission law.

In 1849, the Alabama State Capitol burned, and King was hired to construct the framework of the new capitol building, as well as design and build the double spiral entry staircases. King used his knowledge of bridge-building to cantilever the stairs' support beams so that the staircases appeared to "float," without any central support.

In 1852, King used this freedom to purchase land near his former master.

Around 1855, King formed a partnership with 2 other men to construct a bridge, known as Moore's Bridge, over the Chattahoochee between Newnan and Carrollton, Georgia, near Whitesburg. Instead of collecting a fee for his work, King took stock instead, gaining a 1/3 interest in the bridge. King moved his wife and children to the bridge about 1858, although he continued to commute between it and their other home in Alabama. Frances King and their children collected the bridge tolls and farmed at Moore's Bridge. The earnings from Moore's Bridge allowed King a steady income, though he continued to design and construct major bridge projects through the remainder of the 1850s, including a major bridge in Milledgeville, Georgia and a second Chattahoochee crossing in Columbus, Georgia.

During the 1850s, John Godwin's fortunes continued to decline, primarily because of the failure of the Girard-Mobile Railroad in which Godwin had invested heavily.

When Godwin died in 1859, his estate was insolvent, although the family still owned their large sawmill operation in Girard. The Godwin children, worried that King could be held accountable for their father's debts, took one further step to ensure his freedom by formally recording in the Russell County Courthouse that "the said Horace King is duly emancipated and freed from all claims held by us."

Even after John Godwin's death, King remained close to the Godwin family, helping Godwin's son run the failing family business. King publicly stated his affection for his former master on a large Masonic monument that he purchased for $1000 and erected on Godwin's grave.

The inscription reads:

"John Godwin Born Oct. 17, 1798. Died Feb. 26, 1859. This stone was placed here by Horace King, in lasting remembrance of the love and gratitude he felt for his lost friend and former master."

In addition, King quietly provided for his former master's family. According to one of King's contemporaries, Godwin's "children became [King's] wards at his own option."

As a newly independent businessman, King moved about the South building covered bridges in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee. He also built homes, commercial buildings, a state hospital in Alabama, and a three-story textile mill that still stands near Columbus.

King family recollections hold that at the time the Civil War broke out King and his son Marshall Ney were visiting friends in Ohio where King was inducted into the Masons, an affiliation that would prove useful after the fall of the Confederacy.

Soon after the hostilities began in the Civil War, King returned to the Chattahoochee Valley, apparently to manage the Godwin mill and contracting business for the Godwin family while John Godwin's son served as an artillery captain in the Confederate army. King also brought his other sons into the operation--John Thomas, Washington, and George.

As the American Civil War approached, King, like many blacks in the South, opposed secession of the Southern states and was a confirmed Unionist. After the outbreak of hostilities, King attempted to continue his business as an architect and builder, constructing a factory and a mill in Coweta County, Georgia and a bridge in Columbus, Georgia. While working on the Columbus bridge, King was conscripted by Confederate authorities to build obstructions in the Apalachicola River, 200 miles south of Columbus to prevent a naval attack on that city. After completing the obstructions on the Apalachicola, King was tasked to construct defenses on the Alabama River before returning to Columbus in 1863.

By this time, Columbus had become a major shipbuilding city for the Confederacy, and King and his men were assigned to assist construction of naval vessels at the Columbus Iron Works and Navy Yard. In 1863, James H. Warner, chief engineer for the Confederate navy, hired King (not the Godwin firm) to build a rolling mill for the Confederacy. Records from 1863 and 1864 show that King supplied logs, treenails (wooden pegs), large oak beams, oak knees, and 15,630 board feet of lumber for the construction of the Confederate ironclad gunboat, Jackson.

As the war approached its end in 1864, many of King's bridges were destroyed by Union troops. This included Moore's Bridge, which King owned. Moore's Bridge was destroyed by Union cavalry in July 1864. Frances King died on October 1, 1864 at Girard, leaving King a widower with 5 surviving children to care for. Raiders under Union general James H. Wilson assaulted Columbus in April 1865, (a week AFTER Lee surrendered to Grant at the Appomattox) and burned all of King's bridges in that city, including the one he had finished less than 2 years earlier.

King suffered the same vicissitudes as other Southern businessmen who worked for the Confederacy. Once, at the end of the war, Federal troops passing through Girard took 2 of his best mules. After considerable difficulty, King retrieved the mules, with apologies from the Union officers, after King proved to them that he was Mason. In some respects, he had less luck with the Confederate government, who paid him in currency that ultimately proved worthless. King's descendants kept the Confederate money until the 1920s, when they threw it out as "trash," and King himself never again accepted payment in any currency but silver coin.

The destruction of the war led to new opportunities for King. Within six months after the war's end, King and a partner had constructed a 32,000-square-foot (3,000 m2) cotton warehouse in Columbus and King had—for the 3rd time—rebuilt the original Columbus City Bridge. Over the next 3 years, King would construct 3 more bridges across the Chattahoochee in Columbus, a major bridge in West Point, Georgia, 2 large factories, and the Lee County, Alabama courthouse.

Gradually, King began to turn the business over to his children, primarily to John Thomas who became head of the family in his father's declining years. In 1869, King, now age 62, married Sarah Jane McManus, about whom little is known except that she was 35 years her husband's junior.

King also pursued interests outside the company. Urged by friends to seek public office, he allowed his name to be entered into the race for the Alabama House of Representatives. He won election twice, both times without actively campaigning, and served from 1868 to 1872. While in the legislature, King introduced several bills, one providing for "the relief of laborers and mechanics." Another required Russell County's commissioners to employ convicts sentenced to hard labor to work on "the public highways and public works of said county." He also served as a member of the standing committee on the capitol.

In the 1870s, the family moved from Alabama to LaGrange, Georgia. The reasons for the move are unclear.

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Throughout the 1870s, the King Brothers' construction firm continued to prosper, building a new chapel for the Southern Female College (1875-76) at LaGrange, Georgia; King himself laid the cornerstone and spoke from the platform at the accompanying ceremonies. They also built LaGrange Academy (c. 1875), that city's first black school, as well as the Warren Chapel Methodist Church and parsonage (c. 1875), also in LaGrange.

By the 1880s Horace King was enjoying a prosperous old age, comfortable in the home he had built for himself in LaGrange. Despite serious bouts with arthritis, King, a lifelong equestrian, spent his remaining years raising and riding fine horses. Occasionally he would stroll down the main street of town wearing a velvet lapel suit.

When King died May 28, 1885, his body, according to family members, was carried "through the town and the men-and ladies too--came out of the shops and stores and stood with their arms folded over their hearts. . . . He was well-respected in that town." King received laudatory obituaries in each of Georgia's major newspapers, a rarity for African-Americans in the 1880s South.

King was posthumously inducted into the Alabama Engineers Hall of Fame at the University of Alabama. The award was accepted on his behalf by his great grandson, Horace H. King, Jr. He was remembered both for his engineering skill and for his character.

The maps of the riverfront around Columbus GA show the extent of Horace King’s Construction. The bridges and buildings along the Chattahoochee in Columbus testifies to his skills as an architect and engineer of heavy timber structures. Similar Structures in Troup County and around the square in LaGrange, as well as bridges across Georgia, Alabama, and northeast Mississippi, enhanced his reputation. His extraordinary accomplishments as a builder were obvious to his contemporaries and would be to future generations as well.

The Covered Bridges built by Horace King I have been to:

Red Oak Creek Covered Bridge-Woodbury Georgia.

This is the longest & the oldest covered bridge in the State of Georgia.

Built in the 1840s using the Town Lattice Truss design (criss-crossed beams that look much like a modern garden lattice. This design created bridge trusses of great strength by distributing weight across multiple timbers).

Now, of all the bridges that King built in Georgia, only one remains in use-this one.

This bridge is a rare surviving example of the ingenuity of the famed bridge builder, Horace King. Including the old pine slats approaching the covered bridge part, it stretches for 391 feet, making it the longest wooden bridge in Georgia. The main span (covered part) is 253 feet long and is the state's oldest covered bridge. This historic bridge survived fires, floods and various attempts of destruction to still stand strong.

And you can still drive across it!

These Bridges were Built by Horace King’s son, Washington (W.W. King) that I have been to:

Watson Mill Covered Bridge-Comer GA

Built in 1885

This Covered bridge was built by Washington (W.W.) King. The son of the famous freed-slave covered bridge builder, Horace King.

This covered bridge is the longest original-site covered bridge in Georgia. It spans 229 feet across the South Fork River. The bridge is over 100 years old and is supported by a town lattice truss system held firmly together with wooden pins.

(Georgia once had over 200 covered bridges, but only 20 now remain).

You can still drive across this one!!

Stone Mountain Covered Bridge

It was built in 1892 in Clarke County near Athens to span the Oconee River. It was moved to Stone Mountain Park from Athens, Georgia, in 1969.

The builder was Washington W. King.

This lattice covered bridge spans 151 feet. (It is now most commonly known as the Stone Mountain Bridge but has had other names. It was called the College Avenue Bridge because of its location on College Avenue and its proximity to the University of Georgia when it was in Athens. It was called the Oconee River Bridge because it spanned the Oconee River. And most interestingly at one time, it was called Effie’s Bridge after a nearby bordello...)

It was also originally a bit longer. It was shortened from its original length by about 30 feet (to its current 151 feet) upon its arrival at Stone Mountain.

In Athens, the bridge was decommissioned in 1964 because it was deemed unsafe for public transportation. But because of its ties to Georgia’s history and a need for salvation it was moved to its current location.

This Covered Bridge is made of pine and cedar. And you can still drive across it!

Euharlee Covered Bridge

The old Euharlee Covered Bridge runs across Euharlee Creek.

The bridge was built in 1886, by Washington W. King (son of a freed slave, Horace) after the raging creek swept away an old bridge on the property of Daniel Lowry. The collapse of the bridge killed one man, a Mr. Nelson, a mule, and a horse. His two young sons emerged from the disaster unscathed. A new bridge was built using some materials provided by Lowry.

The bridge was built in using the Town Lattice design. The bridge spans 137 feet over Euharlee Creek. The entire bridge was assembled on land, each board numbered, taken apart and reassembled in its present location. This bridge is said to be one of the finest in existence. The bridge was used continuously until 1978 when the concrete bridge opened.

Horace King Memorial Covered Bridge

Then there is the Horace King Memorial Bridge in Valley Alabama. This bridge was constructed following his style and in his honor.

The Interior of the Alabama State Capital Building in Montgomery AL has an interior spiral stair-case that was built by Horace King.

I really hope people read this and learned his story. Horace King was so much more than a rags to riches story. Im amazed at all the accomplishments that he did in his lifetime. All the numerous projects that he did – on bridges and buildings – he must have had several projects going on at the same time in different phases.

At his grave, There is an obelisk that has been dedicated to Horace King and his son. The obelisk is patterned after the marker that Horace King put up in Phenix City at his one-time owner’s grave, John Godwin’s . The only time known of a (former) slave putting marker on a former master's grave.

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