Horace King – Bridge Builder of the South
by
John C Abercrombie
Many people have an idea that all Blacks in early America were slaves, picking cotton and doing heavy labor. They believe these people had no skills and were not capable of learning, but these people have absolutely no knowledge of Horace King who defied all negative stereotypes.
Horace King not only defied the stereotype, but he was also a master builder who built major bridges throughout the South. Who would have ever thought that a former slave would be hired to build the Alabama State Capital Building before the Civil War?
Horace King was born a slave, September 8, 1807 in Chesterfield County, South Carolina. Although it was against the law to teach any Black, slave or free to read or write, King was taught at an early age and was a skilled carpenter by his teen age years.
Horace King and Ithiel Town (Town was the man’s sir name) met in 1824 when Town came to Cheraw, South Carolina to construct a bridge over the Pee Dee River. Town was a professional architect and was well known for the Lattice Truss design which was to become the center of King’s future work.
King went on to become one of the most respected bridge builders of the 19th century, constructing scores of bridges in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi. King was the architect and construction manager of many bridges over the Chattahoochee River Valley in Alabama and Georgia.
King constructed these lattice truss bridges at every major crossing of the Chattahoochee River. These bridges were in the deep South.
The sir name of a slave was often that of the owner and for this reason Horace King is sometimes referred to as Horace Godwin, but he accepted King. The confusion came about in 1830 when King was sold to John Godwin. Godwin was a contractor who worked on the Pee Dee bridge. In 1832, Godwin constructed a bridge over the Chattahoochee between Columbus, Georgia and Phoenix City, Alabama. King and Godwin began building together and in addition to bridges, built houses.
The Columbus City Bridge is the first acknowledged to be built by King. He planned the construction and managed the slave labor used to build it.
In the mid 1830’s King went to Oberlin College, in Ohio, the first to admit Blacks. This increased the work of the two men, and they designed and built courthouses in Muscogee County, Georgia, Russell County Alabama and many cotton warehouses.
In 1837, the ownership of king was transferred to William Wright to avoid having him seized by Godwin’s creditors. King was so well thought of that he was allowed to marry Frances Gould Thomas a free woman of color. This was almost unheard of because of a principal under law known as “Partus Sequitur Ventrem”. Under which the children took the social status of their mother (slave or free). Thus, a slave owner could not lay claim to children born to a free woman, thus losing money. Slave owners are concerned with greed and not the health or wellbeing of the slave.
The two men designed and built the courthouses of Muscogee County, Georgia and Russell County, Alabama from 1839–1841, and bridges in West Point, Georgia (1838), Eufaula, Alabama (1838–39), Florence, Georgia (1840). They built a replacement for their Columbus City Bridge between Columbus and Girard in 1841, as the original had been destroyed during a 1838 flood.
By 1840, King was being publicly acknowledged as being a “co-builder” along with Godwin, an uncommon honor for a slave. King’s prominence had eclipsed that of his master by the early 1840’s. He worked independently as architect and superintendent of major bridge projects
He was the architect and superintendent of a major bridge project in Columbus, Mississippi in 1943 and again in Wetumpka, Alabama in 1844. He met Robert Jemison, Jr. a Tuscaloosa attorney while working on a project in Eufaula. They became lifelong friends and Jamison began using King on projects like the 420-foot Columbus, Mississippi Bridge. He also built 3 smaller bridges near Steens, Mississippi where Jemison owned several mills.
Many of the bridges built by King no longer stand as they were destroyed by Union Troops during the Civil War.
It is an overs implication of slavery to think of it merely as keeping a person from being free or thinking that once free a person could do whatever they wanted, but that was not the case.
Because he was able to keep a portion of his earnings, King was able to purchase his freedom from the Godwin and Wright families in 1846.
Free? Think again! Under Alabama law a freed slave could only remain in the state for 1 year. Other states had similar laws. Remember his attorney friend Jemison? Serving in the Alabama State Senate, he pushed passage of a special law that gave King his freedom and exempted him from the law requiring him to leave the state.
King became active in politics after obtaining his freedom and served in the Alabama House of Representatives from 1868 to 1872.
With the exemption under the law, King was able to purchase land near his former master. They built homes. First, they built Godwin’s then King’s. So thankful for the friendship that when Godwin died in 1859, King had a monument erected over his grave.
King’s work was so well thought of that he was hired to construct the framework for the Capital building of the Alabama State Capitol after it burned in 1849. Among the features that King built were twin spiral entry staircases using cantilever stair support beams, so the staircases appeared to defy gravity and float without central support.
While in LaGrange, King continued building bridges, but also expanded to include other construction projects, specifically businesses and schools. By the mid-1870s, King had begun to pass on his bridge construction activities to his five children, who formed the King Brothers Bridge Company.
King’s health began failing in the 1880’s, and he died on May 28, 1885.
We have learned about an amazing man. He was amazing, not because he was any different, but because he was given the opportunity! He received an education and he opportunity to use it.
We have seen some of the many laws enforced that worked to take away citizenship rights from Black people. They could not be educated under penalty of law; they could not remain near the people they know and often were family members if some were freed.
The greatest opportunity a person can be given is an education. Use every chance you have to prepare yourself for success!
To those interested in learning more about this remarkable man, Horace King, please view the following series of videos. You will learn lots!
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John C Abercrombie
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HORACE: The Bridge Building King
Part I
Here we are introduced to some of the descendants of Horace King and we hear experts comment on his life and work.
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History
As you consider the achievements of people like Horace King, it makes you wonder what else has been left of the history we have been taught. It is not a matter of there being no history, it is a matter that it is not in general knowledge. It has been either overlooked (polite for eliminated as of no importance) but it is available for discovery using our Amazon affiliate link below
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Horace King: From Slave, to Master Builder and Legislator (An African American Experience Project)
This teen and young reader book is a richly illustrated biography about Horace King. In 1807, King was born into slavery on a South Carolina plantation. A slave trader sold him to a man who saw something special in Horace King. His owner, John Godwin taught King to read and write as well as how to build at a time when it was illegal to teach slaves. King worked hard and despite bondage, racial prejudice and a multitude of obstacles, King focused his life on working hard and being a genuinely good man. King built bridges, warehouses, homes, churches, and most importantly, he bridged the depths of racism. Ultimately, dignity, respect and freedom were his rewards, as he transcended the color lines inherent in the Old South of the nineteenth century. Horace King became a highly accomplished Master Builder and he emerged from the Civil War as a legislator in the State of Alabama. Affectionately known as Horace “The Bridge Builder” King and the “Prince of Bridge Builders,” he also served his community in many important civic capacities. How is it possible that this man achieved so much although he was born a slave? This is a true story of great achievement in spite of adversity. Today, Horace King’s legacy is as powerfully symbolic as one of his sturdy bridges.
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Building Toys
It starts as a game, but as you improve your skills, there is nothing you can’t do. The fun starts here using our Amazon affiliate link below
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HORACE: The Bridge Building King
Part II
Here we see intricate discussion (not technical) discussion of Horace King’s work. Included are the bridge design and construction and the remarkable “floating” staircase in the Alabama State Capital.
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Software – Education and Reference
It is amazing what Horace King was able to do and it is astounding to think what he could have done if he had access to software to help that creative genius within. You are most fortunate and can access it here using our Amazon affiliate link below. Remember there is no cost to you for using our links and it helps support work of informing you of the greatest people, places and events
ABH – Software – Education and Reference
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Bridging Deep South Rivers: The Life and Legend of Horace King
Horace King (1807-1885) built covered bridges over every large river in Georgia, Alabama, and eastern Mississippi. That King, who began life as a slave in Cheraw, South Carolina, received no formal training makes his story all the more remarkable. This is the first major biography of the gifted architect and engineer who used his skills to transcend the limits of slavery and segregation and become a successful entrepreneur and builder.
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“HORACE: The Bridge Builder King” Part III
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Black Men Built the Capitol:
Discovering African-American History In and Around Washington, D.C. A story most Americans don’t know. *Slaves built the Capitol, White House, and other important Washington structures *The National Mall sits on the site of the city’s once-bustling slave market *The grounds that are now Arlington National Cemetery were once a self-sustaining village for former slaves Millions of people visit the National Mall, the White House, and the U.S. Capitol each year. If they only hear the standard story, a big question remains: Where’s the black history? Packed with new information and archival photos, Black Men Built the Capitol answers this question.
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Hardware
You have seen what is possible with imagination. Use yours and the proper hardware and express the creative genius that you are. Practical uses and advanced as well start here, using our Amazon affiliate link below
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HORACE: The Bridge Building King
Part IV
In addition to bridges, Horace King built ships and other large buildings, such as warehouses and grist mills. See the innovations that were the signature to work done by Horace King. Experts in the field discuss these projects.
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Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong
A new edition of the national bestseller and American Book Award winner, with a new preface by the author Since its first publication in 1995, Lies My Teacher Told Me has become one of the most important―and successful―history books of our time. Having sold nearly two million copies, the book also won an American Book Award and the Oliver Cromwell Cox Award for Distinguished Anti-Racist Scholarship and was heralded on the front page of the New York Times. For this new edition, Loewen has added a new preface that shows how inadequate history courses in high school help produce adult Americans who think Donald Trump can solve their problems and calls out academic historians for abandoning the concept of truth in a misguided effort to be “objective.” What started out as a survey of the twelve leading American history textbooks has ended up being what the San Francisco Chronicle calls “an extremely convincing plea for truth in education.” In Lies My Teacher Told Me, James W. Loewen brings history alive in all its complexity and ambiguity. Beginning with pre-Columbian history and ranging over characters and events as diverse as Reconstruction, Helen Keller, the first Thanksgiving, the My Lai massacre, 9/11, and the Iraq War, Loewen offers an eye-opening critique of existing textbooks, and a wonderful retelling of American history as it should―and could―be taught to American students.
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Major Appliances
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“HORACE: The Bridge Builder King” Part V
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Home Improvement
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The Color of Law:
A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America New York Times Bestseller • Notable Book of the Year • Editors’ Choice Selection One of Bill Gates’ “Amazing Books” of the Year One of Publishers Weekly’s 10 Best Books of the Year Longlisted for the National Book Award for Nonfiction An NPR Best Book of the Year Winner of the Hillman Prize for Nonfiction Gold Winner • California Book Award (Nonfiction) Finalist • Los Angeles Times Book Prize (History) Finalist • Brooklyn Public Library Literary Prize This “powerful and disturbing history” exposes how American governments deliberately imposed racial segregation on metropolitan areas nationwide (New YorkTimes Book Review)
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“HORACE: The Bridge Builder King” Part VI
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We see a master builder in Horace King. Notice that there had to be a law change to allow him to remain because the law required freed men to leave the state in 1 year, splitting families. We also see the degree of intelligence that Africans had. Laws were passed to prevent their education, not because they couldn’t learn but to keep them from learning and enslaved. It is impossible to enslave the body of a person who’s mind is free.