Horace King, a South
Carolina native who was born in 1807, became known as a master
builder of bridges and buildings in Alabama, Georgia, and
Mississippi.
By the 1870s, King had built his famous "lattice bridges" over the
Chattahoochee River (at West Point, Columbus, Ft. Gaines), the
Flint River (at Albany), and the Oconee River (at Milledgeville)
and this one at Red Oak Creek, Gay.
Before the end of his life, King was even known as a political
figure, having served in the post-war Alabama Legislature as a
state representative from Russell County (1868-1872).
In the 1870s, King moved to LaGrange, Georgia, where he and his
sons prospered through the work of their construction firm. King
died in 1887 and is buried in LaGrange’s Stonewall Cemetery.
Dr. William H. Green, an authority on the life and work of Horace
King, has said of King: "Laborer and legislator, his life was an
astonishing symbolic bridge - a bridge not only between states, but
between men. Like one of his stately Town lattice bridges, Horace
King’s life soars above the murky waters historical limitations, of
human bondage and racial prejudice. He did not change the currents
of social history, but he did transcend them and stands as a
reminder of our common humanity, the potential of human spirit, the
power of human respect."
This is the last
remaining example of Mr. King's skill at bridge making. A tribute
to the man and his legacy.
Congratulations to the First to Find!
Nasty
George
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