LaGRANGE, Ga. (WRBL) — One of the last historic covered bridges in the Southeast has returned to its home in LaGrange.

The Wehadkee Covered Bridge was originally built in 1873 by Horace King. It was designed to carry Harmony Church Road over the Wehadkee Creek at Cofield’s Mill.

King was a “former slave, master bridge builder, genius engineer” who died in 1885. The bridge was destroyed by a flash flood the following year.

King’s son, George, was able to recreate the bridge in 1890. He used the “Town Lattice-Truss design” often seen in his Father’s works.

The bridge would have been left underwater by the 1965 construction of the West Point Dam. Officials at Callaway Gardens asked for a portion of the bridge to place at their Pine Mountain location.

Callaway Gardens moved the bridge to a secure location in 1983, and intended to make use of it in the future. The bridge has now returned to West Point as part of a larger project, according to Kathryn W. Tilley.

“How fortunate we are that in 2020, the perfect opportunity arose to showcase this bridge and honor the King family,” said Tilley. “This bridge is part of a larger project that we will be sharing with both residents and visitors to LaGrange very soon.”

More information on this project can be found at www.visitlagrange.com.