Born a slave, Horace King became a master builder who constructed covered bridges over every large river between western Georgia and eastern Mississippi. He gained his freedom in 1846 through the Alabama legislature with the aid of his master, John Godwin. In 1859, King placed an obelisk on Godwin's grave in Phenix City, Alabama, noting his love and gratitude. After the Civil War, he served two terms in Alabama's Reconstruction legislature. This political and business leader moved with his family to LaGrange about 1873, and he and his son Marshal Ney King are buried just west of here.