Saturday, November 7, 2020
While I certainly wasn't trying to be up and out too early, being greeted with a nice sunrise while packing up the car is certainly a nice bonus.
There was one stop to make on the way out of Greensboro. Tucked behind the county courthouse sits the original county jail. Built in 1807, it's the longest standing stone structure in the state. Violent prisoners were held below ground in cells with no windows and little ventilation, often chained to the walls.
Non-violent prisoners were sometimes held upstairs where there was some light and fresh air. That's also where you'd find a trapdoor in the floor. The gallows were used for executions until 1824. The building itself was used as a jail until the new one was built in 1895.
It was time to move on. Hwy 268 took me east out of town and Hwy 77 took me north-east to the city of Lexington.
On the outskirts of Lexington you'll find Shaking Rock Park.
Just over that hill you'll find a twenty-seven ton boulder, perched on another one. Local legend has it the boulder is so finely balanced, you can make it move simply by pushing on it. Perhaps there's a sweet spot. But, it didn't move for me.
From Lexington, it was an east drive north on Hwy 22 to the town of Comer and Watson Mill Bridge State Park. That's where you'll find the longest remaining covered bridge in the state.
The stone wall on the far side of the Broad River is all that's left of the original mill. Gabriel Wilson bought the land and mill complex in 1868. Seventeen years later Washington King was contracted by the county to build the bridge.
It's not just a cool bridge, it's a bridge with a backstory. In 1829, a bridge builder by the name of John Godwin attended a neighbor's liquidation sale and bought a twenty-two year old slave by the name of Horace King. Godwin quickly discovered King had a natural aptitude for bridge design and building.
The first project King worked on was a four hundred foot bridge between Columbus, Georgia and Girard, Alabama. As the reputation of the Godwin Bridge Company grew, so did that of Horace King. He started taking over a supervisory role on projects.
By 1845, John Godwin's business was suffering due to some bad investments. King had been saving his money from his work, and used the opportunity to buy his freedom. However, Alabama law made this quite difficult. So, Godwin temporarily moved them to Ohio, filed the paperwork to free King, then moved back to Alabama.
State Senator Robert Jameson had been a business partner with Godwin and worked directly with King on numerous occasions. He pushed through King's emancipation through the Alabama General Assembly.
When Godwin died in 1859, his family offered to let King run the last family asset, a mill in Gerard, Alabama. With possible war looming, the family filed papers with the county courthouse one again declaring King "freed of all claims held by us."
Horace King started his own bridge building business and hired his five children. King was already building a reputation for quality work when the Civil War ground construction to a near halt. But, after the war, all those bridges destroyed in the fighting had to be rebuilt. King's company thrived.
His oldest son Washington King would eventually take over the family business and earn the contract to build the Watson Mill Bridge.
As for the mill, it closed down in 1904. A year later, Frank Edwards bought the site and build an electric generating plant downstream. The electricity would run his cotton mills thirteen miles away.
As for the park, there are a series of walking trails along the river and canal.
Eventually, you come to the site of the old power plant.
Eventually, you'll loop back to the bridge itself.
Taking the north exit of the park was a perfect excuse to drive across the bridge again. Hwy 72 would bring me back into downtown Comer. That's where I came across Chief Burger Barbecue. With a name like that, I had to stop. I took it as a good sign the guy in front of me was buying two quarts of cole slaw. It was quite good and the sandwich hit the spot. It was time to hit the second park of the day.
From Comer, Hwy 98 would take me to Hwy 29 and a straight shot to Victoria Bryant State Park. Paul Bryant donated the land for the park to the state in the 1950's. His only condition being they name it for his mother, Victoria.
The plan was to hike both the perimeter trail and the second loop that would eventually bring me to a beaver pond, or so I expected. It begins easy enough skirting the edge of the pond and then alongside the park's golf course.
The Beaver Pond Loop would bring me to a viewing tower...
The only thing missing was a beaver pond.
As for the trails, eventually, I would wind back onto the perimeter trail. The plan was to take it as far as it went, then work my way back to the car. Or perhaps not.
I wound up cutting through a camping area to another trail, which would eventually take me back to a park road. I found this interesting. Instead of a bridge, there's a concrete ford.
From the park, it was an easy drive to the Days Inn in Royston. It was one of those motels seemingly in the middle of nowhere, just at the crossroads of two state highways. No complaints. It was your typical Days Inn.
To the west, downtown Royston with all the usual chain restaurants along Hwy 29. To the east, Hartwell, county seat of Hart County. Right across the street from the courthouse, Southern Hart Brewing Company The choice was an easy one.
I ditched the car by one of the least pretentious southern county courthouses...ever.
Getting out of the car, I noticed a small, colorful sculpture of a boat on the street corner. So, I went to check it out. It's part of a larger display called Sailboats of Hartwell. It's a fundraising effort for Hartwell's Art Center. There are ten painted sailboats peppered around downtown. This one is by Mike England:
By Taylor Dubeau:
Another by Kristin Joyner, Kay Cleveland and Ann Carswell:
The next by Megan McCurley:
Another by Angela Short and Debbie Gurley:
The last one I saw was by Mike England:
Which brought me back around to Southern Hart Brewing Company. There was seating inside and out, with plenty of TVs tuned to the Georgia/Florida football game. I chose one of their IPAs with my dinner. Quite good, but a little heavy on the orange flavoring.
On the back of the vehicle parked next to me...
From the Days Inn parking lot...
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