A Master of the Trade Virtual Cache

Although my story was mostly forgotten until about a century after I died in 1885, my life is now the subject of a documentary film by Tom Lenard of Auburn University in Alabama.

My unmarked grave was discovered in LaGrange in 1978; now a granite headstone erected by the Troup County Historical Society marks it. There is a street named for me in LaGrange, and there is a historical marker telling about my life.

My story began in 1807 in South Carolina, where I was born a slave; my ethnic heritage was a mixture of African-American, Native American and white. My second owner was John Godwin, an entrepreneur who studied bridge building with some of the leading New England experts of the times. In the 1830s, Godwin moved to West Georgia, where bridge builders were needed, especially to help open up the Chattahoochee Valley region. Though I was technically Godwin's "property," in reality, I functioned more as Godwin's junior partner.

Together, we built the first bridge across the Chattahoochee connecting Columbus with Phenix City, Alabama (then known as Girard). The 560-foot-long covered bridge was crucial to the development of the region.
In the early 1840s, a catastrophic flood washed the bridge down the river. Columbus officials were anxious to get a new bridge, so they awarded the contract to Godwin, who had given them the highest bid but the earliest completion date. I was credited by historians with making the project successful, as I salvaged pieces of the old bridge to help build the new one before the deadline.

It was this kind of cooperation that led Godwin to give me legal freedom in 1846. The Alabama Legislature, likely influenced by an important legislator who was a business associate of Godwin, passed a bill making my freedom official.

It is also likely that Godwin's failing finances and ill health contributed to the timing of his decision to make me a free man. Godwin wanted to ensure that I could not be considered part of his estate that could be claimed by creditors.

Godwin died in 1859, setting the stage for tribute from myself. Over Godwin's grave in Phenix City, I erected an ornate headstone for which I paid $1,000, an incredible sum in those times. The inscription on the headstone reads, "This stone was placed here by ------ ---- in lasting remembrance of the love and gratitude he felt for his friend and former master."

As a newly independent businessman, I moved about the South building covered bridges in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee. I also built homes, commercial buildings, a state hospital in Alabama, and a three-story textile mill that still stands near Columbus.

I am also is credited with building the magnificent self-supported wooden staircase that is still one of the most outstanding features of the Alabama Capitol building. But it is my bridges that seem to have captured people's hearts, There was a sign on the covered bridge across the Chattahoochee at Columbus warning that anyone traveling faster than walking speed would be subject to a $10 fine. [One of the family's bridges (my sons were also builders) was Glass' Bridge between LaGrange and West Point.] When that bridge was deliberately burned down in 1954,it had been built so well that fire was the only efficient means of demolition…some people openly wept.

During the Civil War, I worked in Columbus building ships for the Confederacy. After the war, I served four years in the Alabama State Legislature, and then moved to to LaGrange, Georgia, in the early 1870s. There, I set up my four sons in a construction company that built private homes, downtown commercial buildings and part of a school for black children.

When I died, my funeral procession went around what is now Lafayette Square, the center of LaGrange. Business stopped, and blacks and whites alike came out to pay their respects. In my obituary in the local newspaper, it was noted that I had "risen to prominence by force of genius and power." Who am I and where am I buried?

Part one: Travel to the cache coordinates. Great view! Imagine the view that I had from this point in the late 1800s. We came many times to this hill in the summers to escape the heat, as there was always a breeze. They built this about 42 years after I died…for a very notable man. What year was it built?
Take the year and add 410.
Use the answer to decode the coordinates for part two.
N33 0- ---
W085 01.886

Part two: This heroic man came to the area before I. He came to our aid in the war for independence, serving with General Washington. Our town, as well as many other sites and features in this country, was named in his honor. At what age did he become a Major General in the Continental Army? Use the answer, minus 7 to find part three.
N33 02.447
W085 0- -08

Part three: I finally got a monument in the town that I lived. This is the second one at this location, as an out of control automobile destroyed the first.
The text states that I moved here in ?. Use this date, minus 128 to fill in the blanks.
N33 0-.---
W085 01.968

Part four: Quite please, as these men are sleeping. Did you find my buddy from South Carolina? I was also born and raised in that state. Thomas was wounded in the Atlanta campaign, and died in a local hospital. Some nights we talk about growing up in rural Carolina, the war, and life in our beloved South.
I built ships for their army. They recruited me saying, “If you can build bridges, you can certainly build ships.” We built some beauties at the Confederate shipyard in Columbus. Now it is time to find me. You could jump the fence and head west, but go out the gate so you can latch it as you leave. Don’t forget…leave before dark!
Thomas died at what age? Add 45 to find the cache.
N33 01.--0
W085 02.007
(may be off some because of tree cover)

Part five: Congratulations! I hope those big Oaks did not hinder your navigation tool. We heard that a man, named French, from Columbus is writing a book about my life. Several years ago he did a movie for PBS about me. I am sincerely grateful for all of the recognition, even though I was only doing what I enjoyed. Much of my work is still standing today. A great example of my work is a restored covered bridge in nearby Upson County, Georgia, and the grand stairway in the rotunda at the state capital in Montgomery, Alabama. Not too bad for a self-taught ex-slave from South Carolina. Just goes to show you, one can achieve…if one tries.

Available year-round Bicycles permitted on paths Less than 500 ft. from car to cache Accessible in Winter Bring a pen or pencil Historic Site

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