DID YOU KNOW that the triangle is the strongest geometrical shape? Triangular braces, called trusses, are used as supports in many large construction projects. In the 1800s a revolutionary design of overlapping triangles was used to build covered bridges throughout the South. The old dusty roads of Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and Mississippi were connected by these sturdy bridges, many of which were the work of Horace King, a remarkable man who, although born into slavery, grew to be recognized as the South’s master bridge builder.
King was born in the Cheraw District of South Carolina on September 8, 1807. He was tri-racial, having African, Native American, and White ancestry. His intelligence and ability must have been recognized early. He learned to read and write at a time when most slaves…
