Horace King was an accomplished builder and architect. He is known for his bridges, but he also designed other buildings.
The Albany Bridge House was built by King in 1858. King was born into slavery but was granted privileges to build around the South. Albany’s founder, Nelson Tift, hired him to build a bridge across the Flint River. The bridge was built with an adjoining bridge house to serve as the official gateway to the town where the town could collect tolls.
Over the years, the bridge house served as a smith shop and an auto parts store. It now functions as the Albany Welcome Center.
On the outskirts of Opelika is a Carpenter Gothic home built by Horace King, master bridge builder, for Mary Ann Godwin Yonge and her husband, William Penn. Mary Ann was the daughter of John Godwin, the man who enslaved Horace King.
Carpenter Gothic is an offshoot of Gothic Revival. They share steep roofs and decorative woodwork that sometimes resembles lace. Carpenter Gothic is usually light in color, frequently white, and made of wood.
Spring Villa was built in two parts. First, in 1850, it was a one-and-a-half-story home for the Yonge family. Then in 1934, the city of Opelika added the rear ell with the help of the Civil Works Administration, a job program created as part of the New Deal. It now serves as a clubhouse and event space for Spring Villa Park.
The rear ell features four pitched windows.
The buildings were once connected by a breezeway, but it was torn down.
Window detail
1934 HABS photo showing the original house being restoredThe staircase in a 1934 HABS photo
Horace King, 1807-1885, was considered the preeminent bridge builder in the South. It is believed he built over 100 bridges, most of them being in Alabama and Georgia. King was born into slavery in Chesterfield County, South Carolina. His enslaver, John Godwin, earned a bid to build a bridge over the Chattahoochee River. King moved with Godwin to Girard, Alabama, to begin the project.
In 1846, Godwin decided to no longer hold King in bondage. I have also read that King purchased his freedom. At this point, King’s services were in high demand to build bridges. He moved freely throughout the South. He is credited with building bridges at many points over the Chattahoochee River and other rivers. Outside of bridges, he built homes and warehouses. He also built the freestanding spiral staircase in the Alabama State Capitol.
Spiral staircase at Alabama State Capitol. (Photo credit- Library of Congress, HABS)
In 1839, he married free woman, Frances Gould Thomas. They had four boys and one girl. For whatever reason, the grave markers for the four boys have the birthdate of 1844. Based on census records, which can be incorrect, I believe Washington King was born in 1840, Marshall in 1842, John in 1846, and George in 1850. All of the children were involved in the construction company that they called the King Brothers Bridge Company.
The long approach of the Red Oak Covered Bridge is located outside of Woodbury, Georgia in the community of Imlac. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The graves of Horace and Marshall King in the Mulberry Street Cemetery complex are located in LaGrange, Georgia. The city of LaGrange has been restoring this part of town and recently added a covered bridge to honor King.Johnson Mill Bridge in Harris County, Georgia (courtesy Digital Library of Georgia
The Euharlee Covered Bridge, is a wooden lattice covered bridge crossing Euharlee Creek. The bridge was built after the raging creek swept away an old bridge on the property of Daniel Lowry. It was built by Washington King and Johnathan Burke. King is the son of a pre-eminent bridge builder, Horace King. The Kings were architects and engineers who built bridges and structures around the South.
Websites store cookies to enhance functionality and personalise your experience. You can manage your preferences, but blocking some cookies may impact site performance and services.
Essential cookies enable basic functions and are necessary for the proper function of the website.
Name
Description
Duration
Cookie Preferences
This cookie is used to store the user's cookie consent preferences.
