Born into slavery on September 8, 1807 in Chesterfield District, South Carolina, Horace King was a bridge architect and builder in west Georgia, northern Alabama and northeast Georgia between the 1830s to the 1870s. King’s owner John Godwin owned a construction business where King oversaw his business activities including the management of construction sites. In 1832, for example, King led a construction crew in building Moore’s Bridge, the first bridge crossing the lower Chattahoochee River in northwest Georgia.
In the decade, Godwin and King constructed some of the largest bridges in Georgia, Northeastern Mississippi and Alabama. By the 1840s, King designed and worked and construction of major bridges at Wetumpka, Alabama and Columbus, Mississippi without Godwin’s supervision. Godwin issued five-year warranties on his bridges because of his confidence in King’s quality work.
In 1841, King was over the construction of the Russell County Courthouse in Alabama. Although the company was successful, Godwin fell into debt. King was emancipated by Godwin on February 3, 1846, to avoid his seizure by creditors. King went on to work for Godwin’s construction company. Then once his former owner died in 1859, King assumed control of Godwin’s business.
During the Civil War, King continued to work on construction projects, usually for the Confederacy, including a building for the Confederate navy near Columbus, Georgia. Confederate officials forced King to block several waterways to prevent Union access to strategic points in Georgia and Alabama.
King’s construction business prospered after the war; he worked to reconstruct bridges, textile mills, cotton warehouses and public buildings destroyed during the conflict. After passing down the family business to his son, John Thomas King, King was elected as a Republican to the Alabama House of Representatives, serving from 1870 to 1874. King passed away on May 28, 1885, in LaGrange, Georgia.
Sources:
John S. Lupold, John S., and Thomas L. French Jr. Bridging Deep South Rivers: The Life and Legend of Horace King (Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 2004); John N. Ingham and Lynne B. Feldman, African American Business Leaders (Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1993); Thomas L. French and Edward L. French, “Horace King, Bridge Builder,” Alabama Heritage 11 (Winter 1989): 34-47.
Agee, H. (2008, December 01). Horace King (1807-1885). BlackPast.org. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/king-horace-1807-1885/
