Haig Point Tabby Ruins, Haig Point Road, Daufuskie Landing

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS SC-867. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Before its destruction during or soon after the Civil War, the main house at Haig Point plantation was the largest tabby domestic building erected in coastal South Carolina. Today, the North Slave Settlement associated with this structure includes three of the best preserved, tabby-walled single slave dwellings still standing in Beaufort County. The settlement is also notable for its unusual curved, rather than strictly rectilinear, layout. PART I. HISTORICAL INFORMA TlON A. Physical History 1. Date of erection: The exact date of main house at Haig Point is not known, but archaeological and documentary sources suggest construction between and Construction of the associated North Slave Settlement was probably begun ca.

with erection of four single dwellings (Structures E-H) plus one larger building of uncertain function (Structure D) arranged in a single row following the adjacent shorelines of the Cooper River. Some time before the settlement was enlarged, this second building phase adding at Jenst four r!wel!i!1gs mTanged linear fashion to the east (Structures During a third building phase, at ai1 .mccitan~ after fhree more slave houses (Structures A-C) were erected to extend the existing row westwards. 2. Architect: Not known. 3. Original and subsequent owners: The main house was most probably built by the Rev. Herman Blodgett who gained control of Haig Point following his marriage to Elizabeth Mongin, who was the widow of the plantation's former owner.

David John Mongin, in The property was sold to WilJiam Pope in and probably abandoned in following the fall of Hilton Head lsland to Union forces. Subsequently (date uncertain) the main house was looted and burned. Oral reports and excavated artifacts indicate that the North Slave Settlement continued to be occupied, at least intermittently, into the twentieth century. HAIG POINT TABBY RUINS HABS No. (page 2) 4. Builder, contractor, suppliers: Not known. 5. Original plans and construction: Main Ho.use: No original drawings or early photographs are known. Archaeological excavation has established that the main house erected at Haig Point during the early nineteenth century was a T-shaped tabby structure with the head of the "T" facing inland (west).

Accommodation incorporated two full stories over an elevated basement. The basement contained eight separate rooms ordered symmetrically about a central hall. As seen in plan, the stem of the "T" was surrounded by porches on three sides which opened northeast, east, and southeast toward Calibogue Sound. Porch construction here was probably tiered in two stories and carried on double height columns. The broad west facade was fronted by a less grandiose entrance porch, probably one and one-half stories high, supported on brick piers at the lower level. North Slave Settlement: Structures E through G of the North Slave Settlement are the best preserved components of the North Slave Settlement.

Laid out in a curved, linear configuration west of the main house, these three one-story buildings are identifiable as single slave dwellings. AJJ were identical in size, organization and construction, enc1osing one or perhaps two rooms at ground level in a through-hall arrangement. Dwellings opened north toward the Cooper River and south to interior portions of Haig Point plantation. Each had tabby exterior walls, now more or Jess ruined, and an external chimney built of tabby and tabby brick centered on its east end. All other structures belonging to the North Slave Settlement are incompletely known, now being represented above ground by tabby chimney bases, typical features of local slave dwellings. Limited excavation has failed to reveal definite architectura!

information about any oth~r 'Juilding ~x.;::ept for Structure H. The latter matched Structures E through G in size but was timber-framed, with outer walls erected on tabby strip foundations. 6. Alterations: There are indications that the main house saw minor alteration, incJuding introduction of new chimneys and basement floors, but neither the full extent nor date of the program is known. It is not dear if individual dwellings of the North Slave Settlement saw any alteration. There is. however, cartographic evidence indicating that the settlement as a whole both expanded and contacted in size before B. Historical Context Land constituting the largest pan of Haig Point Plantation was first granted to Archibald Neile in and sold during the same year to George Haig J.

A merchant based in Charleston, HAIG POINT TABBY RUINS HABS No. (page 3) Sovth Carolina, Haig - who was murdered by a group of Native Americans in - left the property to his son, George Haig 11 from whum it passeu to George Haig ill in i Ottered for sale in the property which was then called Haig's Point incorporated 400 acres of "valuable cotton land" and was apparently purchased by John David Mongin ( for his son, David John Mongin. John David Mongin, who was sometimes called "money" Mongin, already owned lands on Hilton Head Island and along the May River besides a "capital dwelling house in Savannah." On Dauruskie, he gradually bought or gained control of seven plantations in addition to Haig Point, these comprising 70 percent acres) of the island's total area by the time of his death.

David John Mongin probably took up permanent residence on Daufuskie soon after his marriage to Sarah Irwin around It is likely that he managed his father's holdings from the latter's island residence at Bloody Point, or rather mismanaged them according to the testimony of the Rev. Jeremiah Evarts who, with a Mr. Eddy, stayed with the younger Mongin family in While not blind to the luxury of his surroundings, Evarts' clear prejudice against strong drink and distaste for plantation slavery was confirmed by David John's conduct. In his diary Evarts wrote: I have now resided three days on a sea-island plantation, where I was treated with all hospitality which the master was owner of. The house was large, the furniture costly, the provisions of the table profusely abundant.

I had a horse to ride, and spent my time principally alone and with Mr. Eddy. The master of the house was incapable of society from drinking brandy, and consequent stupidity and ignorance. He had been educated at Princeton College, and is probably somewhat under 40. Every evening he is so far overcome with strong drink as to be silly; every morning full of pain, languor and destitute of all appetite. Beyono the rnajn house, Evarts found nothing but despair and slackness. Concerning the plantation's labor force, Everts remarked: the state of the slaves, as physical, intellectual, and moral beings, is abject beyond my powers of description: yet the state of their master is more to be pitied, as it exposes him to a more aggravated condemnation.

David John Mong in died during the following year ( though whether of alcoholism or some other underlying illness is not known. His widow, Sarah, apparently inherited Haig Point then containing 330 acres and a second plantation on Daufuskie named Freeport which incorporated an additional 600 acres. According to Evarts, Sarah had found religion during her first husband's declining years. a circumstance which might help explain why she chose to marry the Rev. Herman Blodgett in Whether or not humanitarian feelings prompted Blodgett to ameliorate the "abject" living conditions endured by slaves under David John Mongin's regime is HAIG POINT TABBY RUINS HABS No. (page 4) known.

But, his presence at Haig Point doubtless seemed promising to fellow clergymen such as Jeremiah Everts who believed that only a "minster of the gospel" could relieve the "harsli- and contemptuous treatment" or "incomparable ignorance" of plantation slaves. And, once in a position to influence the management of Sarah's assets, it does appear that Blodgett embarked upon a program of improvement at Haig Point. While the full scope and duration of this activity is now difficult to determine, contemporary charts and surviving physical evidence suggests that it ultimately incorporated agricultural, architectural, and landscape components. The grandest project by far was erection of a new plantation house near the northern tip of Daufuskie.

Incorporating two full stories over an elevated basement, this residence was T-shaped in plan and had a footprint of about square feet excluding porches. Construction featured tabby exterior walls reinforced at the comers in fired brick executed on a scale rarely, if ever, seen on the South Carolina Sea Islands. Analysis of wall falls and other architectural fragments excavated from the now demolished building suggests construction during the late or early If correct, this interpretation would place completion, or near completion, before Sarah Mongin Blodgett's death which according to a Savannah newspaper occurred at Haig Point in The, U.S.

Coastal Survey Chart published in offers some additional support for the conjectured construction date since it shows a large building in the near vicinity of the present Haig Point Light which is itself founded on the ruins of Haig Point's main plantation house. 1 The U.S. Coastal Survey of also illustrates a single slave row extending at some distance west of the main house. Architectural and archaeological investigation indicates that the first phase of this settlement included four single slave dwe11ings plus a larger structure of undetermined function. The building group described a gentle curve in plan which followed the shoreline of the tidal Cooper River, an arrangement which opened ~hvellings to codin'?; breezes and expansive views out toward Hihon Head Island.

Three adjacent houses, designated from east to west as Structures E through G, were almost identical in size and construction. Each featured tabby exterior walls and an external end chimney made of noncombustible materials, that is, tabby and tabby brick. Inside, there may or may not have been some kind of board partition dividing the space, a central doorway on each long facade flanked by one small window right and left reflecting the simplicity of interior organization. 1 Burn ( 84) cites a letter dated 16 Januarv. from BlodQett's second wife Catherine to her sister ~ which describes how Blodgett was then supervising the construction of a large house. Burn implies that the building mentioned was at Haig Point. however, the letter cited is in private hands and its text cannot be verified.

HAIG POINT TABBY RUINS HABS No. (page 5) The fourth dwelling, Structure H is_ known only from excavation; it was located immediately to the west. While similar in pJan and area to the others, it was apparently timber framed with its superstructure raised on tabby strip foundations. To the east of Structure E, located at the head of the North Slave Settlement as first built, stood another building (Structure D) apparently larg'er and differing in function from the rest. Today it is represented by a massive tabby chimney base of shouldered form. The size of this feature suggests Structure D was a kitchen or perhaps an infirmary for ailing slaves.

Analysis of ceramics recovered during archaeological excavation has yielded a mean occupation date of for the North Slave Settlement's initial phase and indicates that construction probably began soon after Sarah Mongin's remarriage. However, as first conceived it was not nearly large enough to accommodate Haig Point's entire slave population which Trinkley argues included the eighty-five slaves listed by the U.S. Census of as belonging to David John Mongin's estate plus others belonging to his widow Sarah in her own right. Such a discrepancy points toward the North Settlement accommodating a relatively small group of individuals, who, judging by the quality of construction exhibited by Phase I building, occupied a privileged position in the plantation's operational hierarchy.

Assuming that its construction was coincident with construction of the main house or alternatively, that the main house replaced an earlier residence located in the immediate vicinity then it can be argued that the North Slave Settlement was first occupied by the owner's personal servants or other domestics who enjoyed favors unknown to field hands. Tabby exterior walls of Structures E through G are especially suggestive with respect to questions of occupational status since there is contemporary evidence that local observers considered slave houses built of tabby an improvement over timber framed slave dwellings. For instance, after visiting Hamilton Plantation on St.

Sim0n's J~land, Gerngi:i, the editor of the Southern Agriculturalist published the following remarks: we were much pleased with the construction and arrangement of the Negro houses ... The old buildings are of wood, but all of those recently erected, are of tabby, which adds much to the neatness of appearance, and the comfort of the inhabitants. They are constructed by the plantation hands at leisure time. 2 Structures E through G find few local parallels although there is no reason to believe that tabby- walled slave houses were particularly rare in Beaufort District or elsewhere along the southeastern Atlantic seaboard. Indeed, similar dw-ellings are widely distributed: for example, a large ruined 2 SoUlhern Agriculturalist (April l l 67.

Two tabby slave homes still rnrvive at the Hamilton Plantation on Gascoigne Bluff. St. Simon's Jsland. Georgia. Although much restored. these structures were added to the National Regis1er of Historic Places on 30 June J HAIG POINT TABBY RUINS HABS No. (page 6) group standing at Kingsley Plantation, King George Island, in northeast Florida offers close similarities in both size and arrangement. 3 Over time, the North Slave Settlement was enlarged first (before to the west and later (date uncertain) to.the east. No more tabby-walled houses were built during the second and third building phases, al ough tabby continued to be used, each house featuring a well-made chimney base fabricated in the material.

Little is known about the size or character of these later dwellings except that they were probably timber-framed. Rather than being raised on piers, their lower sills appear to have rested almost directly on the ground. If so, later slave dwellings at the North Slave Settlement resembled timber framed slave houses with tabby and tabby brick chimneys at Retreat Plantation near Beaufort illustrated by photographs taken around During Phase II four or perhaps five houses, designated from east to west as Structures I through L, were added to the original settlement directly west of Structure H. These were ordered in a single straight line rather than on the gently curved plan initiated during Phase I.

With Phase Ill, the original curved site plan was re-established, three houses, designated from east to west as Structures A though C, being added to the settlement immediately east of Structure D. Tabby chimney bases closely resembled chimney bases erected during Phase II, differing only slightly in size. When this building episode took place has not been determined but, judging by the U.S. Census returns, the settlement still remained too small to accommodate Haig Point's total work force which numbered 109 slaves in More changes occurred some time before when U.S. Coastal Survey charts show the North Slave settlement then comprised six structures rather than the twelve structures attested by earlier sources.

It is possible but by no means certain that this diminution reflects the sale of Haig Point to William Pope in who probably spent most of his time on Hilton Head Island raL11er than on Daufuskie. Pope apparently left Haig Point's man~gement to overseers or possibly to his son-in-law, the Rev. Alsop Park Vail Woodward, who is said to have died on the island in Whatever the case, Pope had become discouraged with cotton planting before when he 3 Arranged in a semicircle bisected by a road leading 10 the main house. the Kingsley settlement incorporated twenty-four tabby-walled single slave dwellings, each equipped with an external end chimney. The majority of these dwellings measured 19' x l" in plan excluding the end chimneys. But, four structures were larger.

measuring 24 x overall excluding the end chimney, and their position (one at the end of each plan segment) suggesting that they accommodated drivers or other individuals who enjoyed elevated status in the plantation s work force. Coincidently or otherwise. the larger Kingsley dwellings are almost the same size as Structures E-G at Haig Point. this near identity adding more weight to the rnpposition that the latter originally accommodated house servants or other privileged slaves. It is also likely that the Haig point slave dwellings were similar in appearance, early photographs and engravings showing the Kingsley slave houses 10 have had gabled roofs. ~Collection of Beaufort C0unty Library. Beaufort, South Carolina. HAIG POINT TABBY RUINS HABS No.

(page 7) recorded his "want of success." Rather than improving "I seem to do worse" he said, concluding that: It would be to the interest of my family to sell out my entire property. If I could get the proceeds judiciously and safely invested- Negroes are selling so high, would be a great inducement, but I doubt if my lands would bring half what they cost me. 5 Any decision along these lines which Pope may have made was forestalled by the occupation of Hilton Head Island by Union forces in November of Pope fled to Sandersville, Georgia, where he died in his health shattered by the "weight of his afflictions." Daufuskie was depopulated of its slaves and, according to Trinkley, probably remained almost unoccupied throughout the Civil War except for Union soldiers.

On 11 April the soldiers established a "camp and depot"at the island's north end to support operations against Fort Pulaski near Savannah. 6 Charged with erecting a battery on Jones Island, Lt. O'Rorke (U.S. Engineers) started pulling down houses on Daufuskie in a search for reusable plank and timbers. At Haig Point, the main house must have been an obvious, highly visible target for such operations since it contained floor boards, beams, joists, and rafters in ample quantities. Brick was also robbed from the building; looting and fires ultimately leavmg it an empty shell.

Eventually (date uncertain) its exterior tabby walls which no doubt became unstable following removal of structural timbers were overturned, first perhaps by storms and later by a deliberate, and systematic, act of demolition. At the North Slave Settlement, destruction was probably less severe or at least more easily repaired, archaeological evidence indicating that Structures E through G were re- occupied and remained occupied down until the or even the Re-occupation could have occurred as early as when records of the Freedman's Bureau record that ten families comprising thirty adults and ten children were living somewhere within L""!e bound~ries of P.aig Point.

Valued at Haig Point plantation itself was confiscated by Federal authorities during the Civil War and sold for non-payment of taxes by the U.S. Direct Tax Commission. By title had been recovered by the heirs of William Pope who then sold five acres surrounding the old main house to the U.S. Coast Guard. During the following year (October of 5 South Carolina Historical Society. Pope Conespondence. File 6 Official Records Vol 6 : 14 l. Reconnoitering the island on 11 May Union forces found the only inhabitants: "3 black women 1 man. all very aged. who remain on their late Master's plantation and are reported to he almost destitute of food." Unfortunately. the name of the plantation is not given. See Official Records, Series J, Vol 35. 1: HAIG POINT TABBY RUINS HABS No.

(page 8) a timber-framed lighthouse was erected upon cut-down remnants of the old building's tabby walls. ' In Haig Point (comprising acres) passed to William Scouten and remained in the hands of his heirs until November of when sold. After several subsequent sales, the property was bought in by International Paper Company who set about subdividing and developing the tract for residential and recreational use. PART II. ARCHITECTURAL INFORMATION A. Main House 1. General Statement a. Form and Character: Erected near the northern tip of Daufuskie Island on a high bluff overlooking Calibogue Sound, the main house at Haig Point was an exceptionally large, tabby structure most likely incorporating two stories over an elevated basement.

T-shaped in plan, the building's central axis ran east-to-west with the head of the "T" facing westwards into the island's interior. Only the basement plan is known, this incorporating eight separate rooms divided by tabby partition walls symmetrically arranged about a central hallway. The main block, which formed the stem of the enclosed four rooms at the basement level that were paired about the central hall; the main block was probably surrounded by porches on three sides (northeast, east, and southeast). Massive tabby foundations suggest these porches were supported by double height columns executed on a monumental scale. The western segment of the building contained four rooms at the basement level, organized as p1irs of comounica~ing spaces accessed from the central hallway.

Unfortunately it is not dear hmv highc~ levels of this house were planned although it can be conjectured that at the first floor, any central hall was wider and opened into a stairwell, basement partitions possibly supporting heavy loads generated by large sliding doors linking various rooms above. T-shaped houses became popular in Beaufort District soon after the American Revolution and remained so down until the Civil War. the form a11owing rear rooms to receive cross ventilation and offering scope for various porch configurations. At Haig Point, the house is remarkable for its extravagant scale and monumental expression \vhich must have created a conspicuous landmark for ships coming to or leaving Hilton Head lsland via Calibogue Sound. HAIG POINT TABBY RUINS HABS No. (page 9) b.

Condition: Fragments of the original main house surviving above ground include portions of its north and east exterior tabby walls which were cut down and re-used to support the lighthouse erected over part of the site in Although eroded, these surviving fragments remain in good condition. Disassociated wall falls exist west and southwest of the present lighthouse but are now difficult to see. Subterranean features are far more extensive. Excavation in revealed that the building's basement walls to be almost intact. Following the completion of the excavation, the basement was backfilled with clean sand and its subsurface tabby walls then capped to reproduce the building's original footprint at ground level. 2.

Overall dimensions: Excluding porches, the T-shaped main house measured approximately front to back measuring along its principal east-to-west axis. The stem of the "T" as seen in plan measured north-to-south x east-to-west and was enclosed by open porches measuring approximately 8-0 in width along its three outer sides. The head of the "T" consisted of a block measuring north-to-south x 21 east-to-west, fronted west by an entrance porch measuring about long x 8'- 0" wide centered on the main land (west) facade. While wall falls establish that the building incorporated two full stories over an elevated basement, the dwelling's original height cannot be determined with accuracy. " 3.

Foundations: Basement walls are supported on tabby strip foundations which vary in dimension according to location. Along the west and east facades, foundation strips are wide x deep, narrowing to wide x 12" deep along the south facade of the west wing. Partitions subdividing the basement are supported by tabby foundation strips measuring about 1'-7"wide x deep. 4. Structural System: AJl exterior walls were of load bearing tabby, :reinforced with fired brick at exterior angles. The brick was laid up in conjunction with successive pours to make true right- angled comers and keep walls plumb as they rose higher. Tabby was cast using removable forms measuring 2' in height.

Impressions indicate that forms (molds) were made up from horizontal timber boards, inner and outer formwork faces being tied together by removable timber pins measuring "x in section. Ex1erior walls diminished in thickness at successively higher floor levels, the reduction creating horizontal ledges on internal wall faces which were used to support floor joists. At basement level, walls surviving in-situ measure in width. Falls indicate that this dimension was reduced to 18" or 16" at the first floor level. Like the first floor walls, walls of the second floor no longer stand but fallen sections indicate they measured about 12" in width. All structural timbers have disappeared, leaving the dimension of floor joists, wal1 plates, and al1 other timber framing members uncertain.

HAIG POINT TABBY RUINS HABS No. (page 10) Excavation has shown that the original basement floor consisted of a lime mortar mix containing oyster shell inclusions, poured lu a depth of over yeiiow sand. During a subsequent building episode (date not determined) a new flooring system was introduced, this consisting of 1" thick tongued and grooved boards wide supported on timber battens (typically measuring 12" x 2W' in section) laid over the original floor finish. Nothing is known about floors at the dwelling's upper levels. 5. Chimneys: Between the central and rear blocks, tabby foundations broaden into chimney bases measuring x 5' -3 Yi" in plan.

Each of the two tabby bases originally supported a stack of fired brick but both stacks have almost entirely disappeared, robbed perhaps for the sake of their materials. Similarly, chimneys located between the interconnecting rooms of the west block are lost except for fragments of fired brick. Construction details suggest chimneys here were inserted during a secondary construction phase over existing tabby footings. 6. Openings: Wall openings are incompletely preserved. Wall falls from the west facade indicate a five bay division at the first floor level, incorporating pairs of flanking windows, each measuring about high x high and spanned by timber lintels measuring 3" x 4" in section, positioned right and left of a central doorway measuring about wide x at least high.

At the basement and first floor levels, the principal east facade probably featured three bays, however, only fragmentary details survive. 7. Roof: While a hipped roof seems likely on the basis of comparison with other large, early nineteenth-century, T-shaped tabby houses from Beaufort County, nothing remains of the roof to confirm or deny such conjecture. B. Structure A, Structure B and Structure C Structure A, Structure B and Structure C are now represented by tabby chimney bases. As preserved, each base measures %" x overall and encloses a hearth which opens to the west. Pour lines show the bases were cast in three separate stages using timber molds. Inner and outer faces of the molds were distanced 10" apart and tied by dowels or rods measuring in diameter.

The two lower pours probably measured about l '-1 O" in height while the uppermost pour created a 12" high tabby cap. Chimney stacks of tabby brick are likely, but have disappeared along with all wall and roof elements. Structure A, Structure B and Structure C are attributed to the North Slave Settlements's last (Phase III) construction episode which was probably completed some time after C. Structure D HAIG POINT TABBY RUINS HABS No. (page 11) The only element of Structure D still standing is a heavily eroded tabby chimney base of shouldered form. Exceptionaily large, this feature measures about x 3i-O" in plan and now stands about high. It was cast using formwork, or molds measuring about "in height; the inner and outer formwork faces were distanced about 11" apart.

Originally, it opened west into a hearth, and the opening was spanned by at least one timber lintel measuring 4" x 5 Y2" in section. The stack probably made of tabby brick has disappeared. Except for its chimney base, nothing certain is known about Structure D's size, form or function. Construction is attributable to the North Slave Settlement's initial (Phase I) building episode. D. Structure E, Structure F and Structure G 1. General statement Although substantially ruined, Structure E, Structure F and Structure G are the only buildings belonging at Haig Point's North Slave Sett1ement which still stand in recognizable form. All three were identical (or very nearly so) in dimension and construction but are now differentially preserved. The following architectural.

information is therefore based on study of the group as whole rather than any one individual structure. a. Architectural Character: Structures E through G are single slave houses built with tabby exterior walls. Form and organization typifies single slave houses erected on the South Carolina sea islands during first half of the nineteenth century, except that they are somewhat larger in size and more solidly built than the majority of known examples. b. Condition: Each building is ruined and roofless. If present, interior partitions have now disappeared along with a11 wa11 finishes. Tabby chimney bases survive in more or Jess damaged condition but chimney stacks are missing. Standing tabby is generally friable and heavily eroded. 2.

Form and overall dimensions: Each building is rectangular with an exterior end chimney. Excluding the chimney, dwellings measure 24' -1" east-to-west x 16' -0' north- to-south. Internal pa11itions (if originally present) are not preserved, however the three bay, central doorway arrangement of the north and south facades implies either a single cell or through-hall plan. East and west ends are blank except for the chimney centered on the east facade. 3. Foundations: Exterior tabby walls rest on irregular tabby foundation strips cast to a depth of approximately W'. Typically, foundation strips are stepped twice to give a HAIG POINT TABBY RUINS HABS No. (page 12) ' , maximum width of about l at base.

Irregularities suggest that these strips were cast directly into trenches 'excavated io define the final building shape except for its end chimney. Chimney foundations were cast separately in tabby, probably between timber form bo~ds to an approximate depth of below ground. 4. Walls: Exterior tabby walls are typically 9" wide and rise to a common height of above grade. There is.no evidence indicating that end walls were carried up higher in tabby. This suggests that any gable was timber framed. 5. Structural System: Pour lines show tabby exterior walls were cast to a uniform width in three successive lifts continuous or nearly so for the entire building perimeter, including chimney bases, at each stage. Formwork used for the lower two pours measured in height.

A different formwork set was used for the uppermost pour, this final "round" measuring in height. Impressions indicate opposing formwork faces were tied by rectangular timber "pins" measuring 2" x 2* "or 1 * x 2" in section, typically positioned about 3'- 4" on center; All timber framing is missing. 6. Chimneys: Each external end chimney originally comprised a square tabby-brick stack supported on a high tabby base of shouldered form which enclosed a hearth, fire box, and flue. Stacks have now disappeared but bases survive in more less damaged condition. Typically, the chimney base belonging to Structure E measures 6' -2 north- to-south x east-to-west in plan.

Commencing at the second tabby pour level, shoulders gradually reduce the north-to-south dimension to about The base's east face is also set back about 5" at the same level, the ledge so produced supporting a tabby-brick veneer, fragments of which still exist in situ. 7 Measuring wide x high, the chimney opening was spanned by a 6 deep x 9" wide timber lintel with ends bedded into adjacent tabby walls. Hearth constrnc!ion was probably of fired brick laid over a 3" thick bed of tabhy mortar cast over layers of whole oyster shell. 7. Openings a. Doorways: North and south facades each featured a central doorway. All are now heavily damaged but evidence from Structure G indicates the door openings were typically wide x about high and spanned by a timber lintel.

Evidence also exists for timber thresholds supported on a single course of fired brick. Doors, hinges, locks, and framing members are missing. b. Windows: North and south facades each featured a window opening positioned right and left of the central doorway, the best preserved example 7 Tabby bricks are slightly variable in size, a typical example measuring 9 W' x 3" x 5". HAIG POINT TABBY RUINS HABS No. (page 13) (from Structure G) measuring wide x 2'- 6" high. Window openings were a placed high and sparined by single or possibly double timber lintel measuring 2" in depth. Impressions attest slender sub-frames (perhaps wide) but whether these housed glazed windows or timber shutters is not known. 8. Roof: All roof framing has gone.

Analogy with similar tabby dwellings at Kingsley Plantation, Fort King George Island, Florida, and the preponderance of local precedent strongly suggests a gabled roof form but this possibility cannot be confirmed. Similarly, it is likely given the absence of slate and tile fragments, that the roof finish was of timber shingles. 9. Floor and Wall Finishes: Disassociated fragments found during excavation indicate that in Structure G the original floor comprised a layer of lime mortar finished smooth over an oyster shell fill. Plaster was also found scattered inside the building but nothing remained in situ to indicate that walls were either plastered on interior faces or stuccoed on the exterior (as seems likely). C.

Structure H '' Structure H is known only from subterranean features excavated in Exposed elements included heavily eroded tabby footings and fragments of a tabby chimney base. " Cast as strips (measuring about wide x to deep), the tabby foundations defined a building measuring x excluding an exterior end chimney which measured x in plan at the east end. While it can be inferred that the building was timber-framed and featured a through-hall or through-passage plan, nothing remains of the superstructure. Structure His attributed to North Settlement's initial (Phase I) construction period. D. Structure I, Structure J, Structure K, and Structure L Located east of Structure H, Structures 1 through Lare represented by badly damaged tabby chimney bases. All originally measured about x in plan.

Pour lines attest construction in three successive stages using formwork tied by metal pins or perhaps timber dowels. The two lov., er pours were standardized in height at the uppermost pour creating a high cap. Each base opened westwards into a hearth. Disassociated scatters indicate that chimney stacks (now lost) were fabricated of tabby brick carried by timber lintels over hearth openings. Structures J through Lare attributed to the North Settlement's Phase IJ development period. HAIG POINT TABBY RUINS HABS No. (page 14) PART ill: SOURCES OF INFORMATION A. Architectural Drawings No origillal or early architectural drawings are known.

Measured drawings of the North Slave Settlement ~d of the.Haig Point Main House were made by Colin Brooker in the These were subsequently published, in part, by the Chicora Foundation as part of its Research Series in The originals are held on file by Brooker Architectural Design Consultants, in Beaufort and copies are held by the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, in Columbia. In the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology made a reconnaissance survey of the tract's archaeological resources. Excavation of the North Slave Settlement was undertaken by Dr. Larry Lepionka (University of South Carolina, Beaufort) in Simultaneously, Colin Brooker recorded the architectural components of the complex through measured drawings.

Lepionka and Brooker discovered the ruins of the main Haig Point plantation house under the present lighthouse during the same year. Subsequently, about 75 percent of the original building was excavated under supervision of Dr. Robin Brown (SUNY Binghamton). Chicora Research Foundation, Inc., in Columbia published results, along with an analysis and additional historical information, in March of B. Bibliography Brooker, Colin. "Haig Point House: The Architecture" and "Architecture of the Slave Settlements" in Michael Trinkley, ed., Haig Point, a Nineteenth-Century Plantation, Daufaskie Island SC. Columbia, SC: Chicora Research Series 15, Burn, Billie. An Island Named Daufuskie. Spananburg, SC: Reprint Company Publishers, [Cole, Cynthia, ed.] Historic Resources of the Low Country.

Yemassee, SC: Low Council of Governments, Evarts, Jeremiah. "Diary of a Journey to Savannah." Transcript, Manuscript Georgia Historical Society, Savannah, Georgia. Harvey, Bruce G., Colin Brooker, David B. Schneider, and Sarah Fick. Beaufon County Above- Ground Historic Resources Survey of Beaufort County, South Carolina. Beaufort, SC: Brockington Associates; Inc., Brooker Architectural Design Consultants, Historic Beaufort Foundation, and Preservation Consultants Inc., HAIG POINT TABBY RUINS HABS No. (page 15) Starr, Rebecca K. and Charles H. Lowe. "Daufuskie Island, South Carolina, Cultural Res0urces Survey, Manuscript on file, South Carolina Department of Archives and History, Columbia, South Carolina. PART IV.

PROJECT INFORMATION This project was sponsored by the Historic Beaufort Foundation and by the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) division of the National Park Service, Paul D. Dolinsky, Chief, HABS. This report is one component of a larger survey of extant examples of tabby architecture within Beaufort County, South Carolina. The documentation was undertaken by HABS under the direction of Paul D. Dolinsky with assistance from Virginia B. Price, HABS Historian, who worked with Jefferson G. Mansell, (formerly of) the Historic Beaufort Foundation, Ian D.

Hill, Beaufort County Planning Department, and Colin Brooker, Brooker Architectural Design Consultants, to identify subjects of study and locate them in the field in and Colin Brooker, whose research underpinned the project, wrote the historical report. Evan Thompson, now with the Historic Beaufort Foundation, assisted Brooker in the production of the reports. Jack E. Boucher, HABS Photographer, took the large format photographs. .