Moore's Bridge (Carroll County, Georgia)

My friend Charlie, the owner of the Meetup group I often hike with or lead hikes for, has been trying to get me to a park called Moore's Bridge a ways west of Atlanta for a while now. For one reason or another, I just haven't been able to make the past outings to this area, but even with the rain pounding down on us, I decided to give it a go today. I've been watching the weather forecast closely and it appears the rain will pass just about the time we start hiking. 

I've done a little research on this park and I believe the remnants of the old bridge are still here just downstream a bit from the western-most trail in the park. Charlie has explained that he has gone to the river and checked, but was unable to see anything. I'm a bit bull-headed and really want to see for myself.

The rain seems to have scared off the majority of hikers today and we are only a group of seven, which is actually better for my tastes. Often, our Sunday hikes get to be too big and unruly. Seven is a good number to manage. Everyone here knows each other and so, we skip the introductions and just head off into the woods. Before long, we encounter a small box-turtle seeking the security of it's shell. We try not to disturb him.

I think this park was created primarily for mountain bikers, which is probably why it is so appealing to Charlie, but even so, the trails are nicely maintained and wind through the woods enough to keep it interesting. We all hold a really good pace and will hopefully get in some good miles today. 

When we reach the southwest corner of the park (the area closest to where the remains of the bridge might be), I begin looking for a way to explore beyond the park. A large deep gully with a feeder creek blocks our passage directly across, but walking through the thorns and brambles just a bit upstream, I find a spot where I can cross over. The group follows curiously. After making way through the undergrowth, the area opens up into a maintained grass area with a house sitting up on a hill above us. I believe this is the historical home of Horace King, a renowned architect, engineer, and bridge-builder of the mid to late nineteenth century, who happened to be African-American and a former slave. He was responsible for designing Moore's Bridge and many other structures throughout the deep south.

Looking left through the trees, I see the unmistakable steel girders of a bridge skeleton spanning the Chattahoochee River. We make our way closer to the bridge and take a few minutes to explore. Everyone is excited to find this structure and I'm glad to have been proven right about it being here. There isn't much left beyond the steel skeleton and in the distance, the approach earthworks just below the house.

Heading up to the house, we take a few minutes to explore around the property, which appears to have been a museum or preserved historic site at some point, though Google indicates that is currently temporarily closed. It's a pretty nice house, though obviously dated and in some level of disrepair. There is an outhouse and well behind the main house and a couple of barns on the nearby land. It's all quite interesting to walk around.

Heading back up to the main trail a slightly different way than we came, we rejoin the mountain bike trails of the park and finish out the hike for the day. When we finally arrive back at the parking area, we've finished 7.9 miles. While mountain bike trails are often boring to me, looking for and finding the bridge made this a very good day. The others agree and thank me for my tenacity in exploring for it. They seem to have really enjoyed the diversion. We say our good- byes and part ways until our next hike.