Moore’s Bridge Park and Horace King Historic Site

This 485-acre property buffers 1.4 miles of the Chattahoochee River and was known for more than a century as the gateway to Carroll County. Part of TPL’s Black History and Culture work, the site’s wooden covered bridge was built by Horace King, an African American who was one of the region’s most respected master bridge builders in the mid-19th century.

But its historical significance doesn’t end there. In July 1864, Union Army General William Tecumseh Sherman sent Major General George Stoneman to find a crossing over the Chattahoochee River. An artillery battle ensued with Confederate soldiers across the waterway, and although the Union troops were driven off, they set the bridge on fire. This delayed the Battle of Atlanta for several days, as Sherman refused to cross the river 40 miles upstream until he knew Stoneman had either secured or destroyed the bridge. Trust for Public Land protected the property in 2009.

In addition to being historically significant, this site is also an excellent location for birding outside metro Atlanta. Keep an eye out for migrating songbirds such as northern waterthrushes, Cape May warblers, and Canada warblers. And keep your ears open for the squeaky dog-toy sound of the brown-headed nuthatch, which lives among pines in the southeastern U.S.