Horace King - Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Posted by: 
xptwo
N 33° 12.820 W 087° 34.349
16S E 446649 N 3675120
Marker describing the life of Horace King, a freed slave who built the first bridge across the Black Warrior River.
Waymark Code: WMCZJ7
Location: Alabama, United States
Date Posted: 10/30/2011
Views: 11
Horace King was born a slave but was freed by an act of the Alabama Legislature in 1846. His then owner, John Godwin, and he built the first bridge across the Black Warrior River in Tuscaloosa in 1834. During Reconstruction, King served in the Alabama Legislature for four years. This marker is located on the Tuscaloosa Riverwalk.
Marker Name: Horace King
Marker Type: Urban
Addtional Information::
The marker text reads:
Horace King
Born a slave in South Carolina in 1807, Horace King became a master bridge builder while working with John Godwin. With the aid of Tuscaloosan Robert Jemison, King was freed by act of the Alabama legislature in 1846. He went on to build many bridges and other structures across the South. Revered and respected for his organizational abilities, building skills and personal integrity, he formed the King Brothers Bridge Company with his family after the Civil War. After serving two terms in the Alabama legislature during Reconstruction, he died at LaGrange, GA in 1885. John Godwin and Horace King built the first bridge across the Black Warrior River on this site in 1834.
Alabama Historical Association
2002
Date Dedicated / Placed: 2002
Marker Number: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
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