Tuscaloosa in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
Horace King
Photographed By Kai NeSmith, November 4, 2023
1. Horace King Marker - New Location
Inscription.
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.
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.
Location. 33° 12.83′ N, 87° 34.349′ W. Marker is in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in Tuscaloosa County. Marker can be reached from Greensboro Avenue near 2nd Street (Jack Warner Parkway). Marker is located in the Black Warrior Riverwalk
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Park just east or upriver of the Lurleen B. Wallace Blvd Bridge. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Tuscaloosa AL 35401, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Also see . . . Horace King. Encyclopedia of Alabama entry (Submitted on March 21, 2010, by Timothy Carr of Birmingham, Alabama.)
Photographed By Tim Carr, November 17, 2008
2. Horace King Marker - Old Location
Photographed By Kai NeSmith, November 4, 2023
3. Horace King & Captain Benjamin F. Eddins Markers
New location at Parker-Haun Park, formerly River District Park
Photographed By Tim Carr, March 13, 2010
4. Horace King Marker (foreground) and Captain Benjamin F. Eddins Marker (background)
Old Location - The two markers are stand on the approach where Horace King built the first river bridge at this site in 1834. The first bridge was damaged by a tornado in 1842, and rebuilt in 1852, and then destroyed by Union Troops in 1865. Horace King built a new wooden bridge in 1872, that bridge was replaced with a 3-span iron bridge in 1882. To accommodate river traffic a higher bridge with a swing span was built 1895. That bridge was replaced with a drawbridge in 1922 and was used up to 1974 after the Hugh Thomas Bridge was opened slightly downstream. All the bridges built on this site utilized the original 1834 piers.
Photographed By Tim Carr, November 17, 2008
5. The rock foundations of the 1834 pier and the Hugh Thomas Bridge overhead.
Photographed By Tim Carr, March 13, 2010
6. The site of 6 bridges that crossed the Black Warrior River.
Credits. This page was last revised on November 8, 2023. It was originally submitted on March 21, 2010, by Timothy Carr of Birmingham, Alabama. This page has been viewed 2,605 times since then and 25 times this year. Last updated on November 6, 2023, by Kai NeSmith of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Photos:1. submitted on November 6, 2023, by Kai NeSmith of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. 2. submitted on March 21, 2010, by Timothy Carr of Birmingham, Alabama. 3. submitted on November 6, 2023, by Kai NeSmith of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. 4, 5, 6. submitted on March 21, 2010, by Timothy Carr of Birmingham, Alabama. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.