Stoney-Baynard: The Plantation House

The Plantation House (Built 1793–1810; burned 1867)

You are looking at the outer walls on the eastern side of the Stoney-Baynard home. This grand building faced south (the direction to your left). It was 1,885 square feet in area, and one and one-half stories tall. The basement, at ground level, was used for storage, but not as a living space. A doorway, which was recently stabilized, is on the right. The other openings probably allowed for ventilation. When you explore the interior, you will see that the basement had two rooms on the left side (south), and one large room on the right (north).

Only a section of the upper wall remained after the 1867 fire. Notice the unusual surface of the walls. They are built with "tabby" cement made with oyster shells, sand and water (see the diagram). Large square holes in the wall, about six feet above ground, show where wooden joists were inset in the tabby. These supported a porch that extended nine feet out from this side of the house. Stucco-like plaster was applied to the upper wall after the tabby dried. 

The name tabby comes from the Spnish "tapia" for "mud wall." Tabby construction was similar to rammed earth techniques that North African Moors brought to Spain in the 700s. Used along the southern Atlantic coast until the Civil War, tabby kept homes cool, and it did not rot or burn.

How Tabby Was Made

Gather: Empty oyster shells were collected from Indian "middens" (shell piles) and tidal creeks. Sand was collected from upland pits. 

Wash, burn, and mix: Oyster shells and sand were washed to remove salt. Then, shells were burned to form lime (calcium oxide). Finally, the lime was mixed with equal proportions of sand, freshwater, and whole shells.

Build the wall: The mixture was poured and packed into parallel "forms" (wooden frames) spaced apart with long dowels. Once the cement hardened, dowels were pulled out of the forms (round dowel holes are evident in interior walls of the basement). Next, the forms were set atop the tabby. The pouring process was repeated, making the wall higher. Beams were set in the tabby walls to strengthen the structure.

Stucco: The walls were plastered with a stucco to protect the raw tabby from moisture. Stucco was scored to give the appearance of stone blocks.