Kymulga Grist Mill Park

Enjoyed the tour by Ben but he made one mistake in his history of the bridge. It was not built by Horace King, the ex slave who is known for his beautiful staircase in Montgomery’s capitol building as well as many other structures. He is sometimes referred to as the ‘bridge builder’ for the many he built before, during and after the Civil War. Most of them were burned by troops or no longer standing due to age. Red Oak Covered Bridge is the only one I know still standing and it is in Georgia. When I told Ben I knew King’s history he backtracked and said he ‘thought’ King built Kymulga but wasn’t sure.

Kymulga Grist Mill & Covered Bridge Park was an interesting surprise. My goal for the day as I drove my way through neighboring Alabama was to check out a BBQ restaurant I was told is amazing by a fellow Atlanta Unilocaler. Since I’m running out of covered bridges to review in Georgia I decided last minute to add a few of the Alabama covered bridges to my Unilocal portfolio. After all, several were only a short distance off the expressway.
[THE SCENE]
It was around 4:30 on a Saturday and the park attendant Ben was preparing to close. Seemed like a lonely place since there really was no one else around other than two ladies scouting the property as a possible wedding venue. Ben was so focused on his tasks that he didn’t notice I was standing at the window of the small ticketing building for at least 3 minutes. I did my best not to startle him when I spoke softly, but to no avail. Cheerfully after he recovered from his initial shock he yelled through the half opened glass window «Git on in here!» I knew immediately I was gonna like this guy.
I told Ben I realized it was almost closing time, but I just wanted to take a few quick pictures of the bridge and I would be on my way. However, never underestimate a 73 year old man who has a passion for what he does. Ben asked me if I wanted to know a little about the history of the Grist Mill and Park and of course I said yes. Well, what I thought would be a brief overview turned into a hour long golf cart ride through the woods of the property.
[THE TOUR]
We started at the covered bridge, which is one of the only Alabama covered bridges still in its original location. Ben began telling me the story of the bridge and how it was part of a Native American Trade route that connected settlements from Alabama to Georgia. Ben was unaware of how knowledgeable I am of covered bridges and when he began telling me the bridge was built by a former slave, I interrupted and said «Oh wow, this is a Horace King bridge?»
It was like I slapped him in the face! Ben’s jaw hung so low that I knew who Horace King was that he could hardly form a coherent word for several minutes. To be honest, I believe that is why our tour lasted so long. I think Ben spent the next hour trying to one up me and show me things I didn’t have knowledge of. I counted at least four times during our golf cart ride where he would stop and say «I can’t believe you know about Horace King!» Ben sang songs, showed me remnants of old roadways/​bridges and gave me a glimpse of a canal carved out by slaves to redirect the river while the grist mill dam was under construction.
One of the songs he sang was of the abundant Paw Paw trees in the area. The Grist Mill here has been closed for a while, but will be reopening in about a month according to him. Inside will be a store where they plan on selling paw-​paw jams and jellies. During our ride through the woods, Ben found a few paw paw fruits on the ground and opened them up for me to try. I’m the world’s largest GERMaphobe and resisted, but that old charmer caused me to give in and try this disgusting looking fruit that looked a lot like a tiny pear filled with vanilla pudding. It actually was not bad.

[FACTS]
Admission Charges: $ 3
COVERED BRIDGE: Circa 1860
Length: 105 feet over the Talladega Creek
Bridge Notes: The covered bridge itself is not very attractive. Although renovated, it is a hodgepodge of materials and odd windows that I don’t believe are authentic to the original design.
GRIST MILL: Circa 1864
Features: 4 stories tall & water powered turbines
AVAILABLE ACTIVITIES: Camping, fishing, reunions, trails, outdoor grills, pavilion, educational events and special performances from gospel, country and bluegrass groups.
[FINAL THOUGHTS]
Ben was wonderful. I enjoyed his company immensely and I believe he felt the same. Meeting people like this unexpectedly are one of the many joys I find in exploring off the beaten path locations. I do however question his knowledge of the covered bridge being built by former slave Horace King. This bridge utilized the Howe Truss system and King more often than not used the Town Lattice truss system. Still, today was a banner day because I did something I would have NEVER thought I would do. I let an old white guy take me in the woods (in the middle of Alabama for crying out loud) and feed me fruit he found on the ground and trusted him that it was safe to eat! To be honest, I don’t care what color you are, if it ain’t been inspected, I ain’t eating it. But I did on this day, and I survived to tell the tail (LOL)!!!
Ben, if your eyes ever run across this review, please know you were a total delight in my brief day adventure through the foothills of Alabama.