master builder. Some historians seemed to think that he studied at Oberlin College, Ohio, the first institution of higher learning to admit African-Americans, in the mid-1830s.
From 1833 to the early 1840s, Goodwin and King completed eight major projects in the Deep South. Goodwin publicly acknowledged him as his co-partner. They built forty cotton warehouse in Apalachicola, Florida. This was a very fruitful time for them. They built courthouses in Muscogee County, Georgia and Russell County, Alabama, and bridges in West Point, Georgia, Eufaula, Alabama and Florence, Georgia. They even rebuilt the Columbus City Bridge that had been destroyed by the flood of 1838.
In 1839, King married France Thomas, a free African American woman. From this union five children were born, four boys and one girl. All of his children followed in his footsteps and become renowned in their own right. In 1846, with earnings from his labors, he was allowed to purchase his freedom from his master. By a special act of the Alabama Legislature, he was allowed to remain in the state after having purchase his freedom. According to the law, no ex-slave was could remain in the state for more than a year after their emancipation. His work was so highly valued that the government was willing to make an exception in his case.
By the 1840s, King had surpassed his master, and was building bridges in Wetumpka, Alabama and Columbus, Mississippi without Goodwin supervision. He built a bridge in Lowndes County, Mississippi and bridged the Tallapoosa River at Tallassee, Alabama. When the Alabama State Capitol was burned in 1849, it was King who constructed the framework of the capital and using the principle of bridge building he cantilever the stairs support beams to give the appearance of a floating staircase. Several days ago, I visited the Alabama State Capitol and I saw King’s work of art. It is amazing! He was honored the State Legislature in February 2017, he is the only person of African American descendant to have his portrait hung in the State Capitol.
During the American Civil War, the Confederacy used his skill to assist in the construction of naval vessels at the Columbus Iron Works and Navy Yard. He constructed a rolling mill for the Confederates and provided timber and lumber for the Navy Yard. Although, he insisted that he favored the Union.
After the war, he began to greatly prosper. He became one of the wealthiest African American men in Alabama. He built bridges, homes, cotton warehouses, textile mills, and public buildings. He wisely integrated his children into his business ventures. He even served as a Republican elected official to the Alabama House of Representative from 1870 to 1874. At the end of his term, he moved to Lagrange, Georgia and there he remained until his death on May 28, 1885.
He left an extraordinary legacy. So much so that the University of Alabama posthumously elected King to the Alabama Engineers Hall of Fame.
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