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| Horace King: Bridge Builder |
Hello. I am Tami from Kamp Kindergarten. I am sharing information with you today about
a man widely respected as the greatest bridge builder of the 1800s in the Deep South.
Long before
Alan Jackson made the Chattahoochee River famous, it was a big part of my
family’s life as I was growing up in West Georgia. I rode the Heard County school bus on Glover
Road, a dirt road running dangerously close (with no guard
rails) along the side of the river to school in Franklin. When the
river flooded as it often did, we had to take alternate routes that
significantly lengthened our bus ride. We fished on the Chattahoochee. We boated and water skied on the river after
West Point Lake was impounded in 1975. I
have camped many nights on the Chattahoochee.
I heard many stories from my great-grandmother and grandmother of their
childhoods growing up on the Chattahoochee in Troup County in the Liberty Hill
area. Many of my family’s Sunday
afternoons after church were spent riding down to West Point to observe the
progress on the dam that was under construction. The backwaters that would be
impounded by the dam meant that many bridges were also constructed. While these bridges are impressive, they are
nothing compared to the genius design and craftsmanship of the bridges
constructed by Horace King.
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| Eufaula Bridge over the Chattahoochee River |
When I think
of the many contributions of African Americans, I always think of an amazing
man who is little known outside of Georgia and Alabama. Horace King, born a slave in 1807 in South Carolina, was an architect,
engineer, and contractor who built many bridges and other structures in West
Georgia and East Alabama. King was
tri-racial with European, African, and Catawba Indian ancestry. King also lived in Alabama and Georgia where
he died in LaGrange in 1885.
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| Staircase in Alabama State Capitol Building |
According to an article in the Opelika observer, “In the late 1800s…every
bridge that had been built across the Chattahoochee was built by Horace King.” Some sources also attribute King with building
cotton warehouses in Apalachicola, Florida. During the Civil War he worked,
most likely under duress, constructing ironclad warships for the Confederacy and
building obstructions in the Apalachicola River to protect Confederate
interests. King is credited with designing
the elaborate and elegant freestanding spiral staircase in the Alabama State
Capitol Building. Various sources mention
King building homes, gristmills, textile mills, courthouses, and possibly an Alabama
hospital. I found conflicting information about King’s involvement in the hospital
project.
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| Columbus City Bridge |
Horace
King’s bridges were vital to the economic development of West Georgia and East
Alabama. He used a method of construction known as lattice truss. Better known bridges constructed by King include
the Columbus City Bridge (Dillingham Street Bridge), the Eufaula Bridge, and the
West Point Bridge all spanning the Chattahoochee. It is interesting to note that King negotiated
partial ownership of Moore’s Bridge (also over the Chattahoochee) between
Carrollton and Newnan so he received a percentage of the tolls collected.
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| Red Oak Creek Covered Bridge |
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Many of King’s
bridges were lost in floods or burned during the Civil War. The only Horace
King bridge still in use today is in Meriwether County, Georgia over Red Oak
Creek. Another King bridge was saved
during the construction of West Point Lake and moved to Callaway Gardens. It is not in use.
It is little
wonder that I find Horace King to be such a fascinating person. His accomplishments were nothing short of
amazing for anyone, let alone someone born into slavery. Many of the sources for my research on King
draw conclusions about various aspects of his life based on what is known about
the area during that time in history and the few documents related to King or
people associated with him.
There are
very few photographs available due to the fact that photography was so new
during Horace King’s lifetime. The photos available are of poor quality due to their age. There are
not many records relating to his works. It
is pure speculation on my part, but I wonder if many of those records were
destroyed when much of the South was burned during the Civil War.
It amazes me
that Horace King had the opportunity to learn the engineering skills required
for his success when it was illegal at that time to teach slaves to read. Some scholars believe that King attended
Oberlin College in Ohio, the first US college to admit African American
students, but I have been unable to verify this as fact.
Many of
King’s works were completed while he was still a slave. King was freed in 1846. He was respected in the white and black
communities. He served in the Alabama
Legislature during Reconstruction. When Horace King moved to LaGrange, Georgia,
he and his sons continued in business as King Brothers Bridge Company.
When King died in 1885, LaGrange citizens, black and white, were reported to
exit their homes and businesses to line the streets and pay their respects as
his funeral processional moved through the town. Various sources note that King’s passing was
documented in eloquent and detailed obituaries in many large newspapers in
Georgia. This was an uncommon honor for an African-American at that time in the
south.
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| Historical Marker on King Street in LaGrange |
Posthumous
honors for Horace King include being inducted into the Engineers Hall of Fame at the
University of Alabama. There are various
historical markers around the Chattahoochee Valley honoring King including one
on King Street in LaGrange near where he last lived.
I am happy
to share that Horace King was recently honored with a new historical marker in
LaGrange at the cemetery where he is buried. A permanent portrait of King was unveiled
at the Alabama State Capitol Building. I
hope these honors will spark renewed interest for teachers and students alike in
King’s work.
Horace King
Teaching Resources
At this time
there are precious few teaching resources about Horace King. What I found was mostly for upper elementary
and middle school students.
I was able
to locate only one Horace King cross-curricular unit for 4th -7th
grade on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Horace King Bridge Builder
I found one book, Horace King:Bridges to Freedom for Ages 9 and up.
This link
has an interactive timeline from his birth to 1989 when he was inducted into
the Engineers Hall of Fame.
The Horace King Story
I was hoping
to find teaching materials suitable for younger learners, but was unable to
locate any. STEM and STEAM bridge building
projects offer a great opportunity to introduce King to learners in the lower
grades. Craft sticks lend themselves well to lattice truss construction. Other materials and methods can also be explored
and compared to the craft stick lattice truss construction.
Teachers
wishing to learn more about Horace King can read information at the links
provided in the credits. The Troup County Archives is an excellent resource for
anyone interested in the life and works of Horace King.
I hope you
have enjoyed reading about Horace King. Please
share any information and teaching ideas you may have about Horace King. I would love to see them.
Tami Steele
The following sources were used to research this post…
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