Date of Award
5-2016
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Legacy Department
Historic Preservation
Committee Member
Amalia Leifeste, Committee Chair
Committee Member
Craig Bennet
Committee Member
Kristopher King
Committee Member
Richard Marks, III
Abstract
The preservation efforts undertaken at historic tabby sites have varied greatly from site to site with differing levels of success. A critical look at different preservation strategies enables the development of best practices for appropriate tabby preservation. These best practices may be applied to an array of sites but are tested in this thesis as they are applied to Chocolate Plantation. Chocolate Plantation is a historic site from the early nineteenth century composed primarily of tabby buildings on the Georgia barrier island of Sapelo. Constructed during the Spalding Era of tabby, between the years 1790 and 1875, Chocolate is representative of plantation design in the most active era of tabby construction. After years of neglect, Chocolate stands primarily in ruin with no plan for preservation or interpretation. Aided by the analysis of other tabby ruins of the Spalding Era this thesis seeks to find an appropriate solution for the preservation of Chocolate through the creation of a preservation plan. Working from a list of over fifty Spalding Era tabby ruins, sites are analyzed for their preservation strategies. The analysis narrows the tabby sites further to a few model samples that display specific preservation options that may be applied to Chocolate Plantation. These sites were chosen for their similarities in ownership, accessibility, and condition to Chocolate so that the application of strategies are more directly relatable. The recommendations compiled for Chocolate Plantation offer strategies that have been utilized with success at other sites. The comparative analysis as a whole provides a broader look at preservation of tabby structures by synthesizing best practices from most remaining tabby sites.
Recommended Citation
Walling, Rachel, "The Preservation of Tabby Ruins: Suggestions for the Future of Chocolate Plantation" (2016). All Theses. 2328.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_theses/2328