Horace King (architect)

Horace King was an American architect, engineer, and bridge builder. King is considered the most respected bridge builder of the 19th century Deep South, constructing dozens of bridges in Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi. Born into slavery in South Carolina in 1807, King became a prominent bridge architect and construction manager in the Chattahoochee River Valley region of Alabama and Georgia before purchasing his freedom in 1846. He went on to construct lattice truss bridges in the style of Ithiel Town at every major crossing of the Chattahoochee River and over every major river in the Deep South between the Oconee and Tombigbee. King served as a Republican member of the Alabama House of Representatives from 1868 to 1872.

Horace King was born as a slave in the Cheraw District of South Carolina, in presentday Chesterfield County, in 1807. Kings ancestry was a mix of African, European, and Catawba, with contemporary biographer F.L. Cherry describing his complexion as showing more Indian blood than any other. Taught to read and write at an early age, he had become a proficient carpenter and mechanic by his teenage years. Records indicate King spent his firstyears near his birthplace, with his first introduction to bridge construction in 1824. In 1824, bridge architect Ithiel Town came to Cheraw to assist in the construction of a bridge over the Pee Dee River. While it is unknown whether King assisted in the construction of this bridge or its replacement span built in 1828, Towns lattice truss design used in both Pee Dee bridges became a hallmark of Kings future work.

Source: Wikipedia