‘Horace King, A Man Ahead of His Time’ Exhibition
The Chipley Historical Center (CHC) is featuring an exhibition celebrating a historically significant African American, Horace King, who spent time living and working in West Central Georgia.
The exhibition, entitled “Horace King, A Man Ahead of His Time,” explores the life of a remarkable man, his accomplishments, and his family.
King was born into a family of enslaved people in 1807, 215 years ago, and found his freedom. In 1824, at the age of 17, he began his career designing and building covered bridges. His family was owned by the Godwin family in South Carolina. Through a series of events, the family moved to what is modern day Phenix City, Alabama. Godwin taught King bridge building and construction, but King exceeded Godwin’s skill set and evolved into a Master Craftsman, skills he later taught to his own children. While he – and his children – are most well-known for building bridges, they also built buildings, including parts of the Alabama State Capitol and, bringing it more local, the Dillingham Bridge in Columbus, the eastside, and parts of the northside of Lafayette Square in LaGrange, and the Kimbrough building in Pine Mountain.
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