A friend of mine told me the other night about a bridge about 1/2 hour or so from me that was built by a former slave and his son. So with the coolness of fall in the air and some free time with the family, I decided to make the trek with a friend of mine to see this interesting piece of history.
Located in the very small town of Euharlee, GA (about 45 mins north of Atlanta) is where we found the Euharlee Creek Bridge.
Here is some history on the man behind the bridge from Wikipedia~
“Horace King (sometimes Horace Godwin) (September 8, 1807 – May 28, 1885) 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.”
Where are the bridge builders of this generation? Where are those that will create a safe and secure passage from childhood to adulthood to parenthood? We simply cannot leave that work up to the prison complex, politics or mere hope. Like this bridge, we have to be willing to build solid relationships that will stand the test of time.
Inside the bridge (notice the wooden nails)
Next, we came across a Black pioneers cemetery. For many reasons, there were no grave stones. So there was no way of telling the names of these individuals. But thanks to the local historical society, the actual grave sites were marked with little wooden crosses.
To walk amongst the hundreds of wooden crosses was indeed a very sobering moment. For these were some of the many who helped blaze the trail for me and my family. Worrying about bills, traffic and work became a speck in my mind as I sat there wondering about what these individuals were like. The gentle fall breeze blowing through the trees served as the perfect complement to such an interesting day.
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What am I doing with the time I have on this earth? Building bridges or just talking about them?
Father & Son Building Bridges
by Duane on October 4th, 2010 at 4:50 pmA friend of mine told me the other night about a bridge about 1/2 hour or so from me that was built by a former slave and his son. So with the coolness of fall in the air and some free time with the family, I decided to make the trek with a friend of mine to see this interesting piece of history.
Located in the very small town of Euharlee, GA (about 45 mins north of Atlanta) is where we found the Euharlee Creek Bridge.
Here is some history on the man behind the bridge from Wikipedia~
“Horace King (sometimes Horace Godwin) (September 8, 1807 – May 28, 1885) 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.”
Where are the bridge builders of this generation? Where are those that will create a safe and secure passage from childhood to adulthood to parenthood? We simply cannot leave that work up to the prison complex, politics or mere hope. Like this bridge, we have to be willing to build solid relationships that will stand the test of time.
Inside the bridge (notice the wooden nails)
Next, we came across a Black pioneers cemetery. For many reasons, there were no grave stones. So there was no way of telling the names of these individuals. But thanks to the local historical society, the actual grave sites were marked with little wooden crosses.
To walk amongst the hundreds of wooden crosses was indeed a very sobering moment. For these were some of the many who helped blaze the trail for me and my family. Worrying about bills, traffic and work became a speck in my mind as I sat there wondering about what these individuals were like. The gentle fall breeze blowing through the trees served as the perfect complement to such an interesting day.
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What am I doing with the time I have on this earth? Building bridges or just talking about them?