HISTORIC MATERIALS One of the building materials incorporated throughout Moreland Village is
versions influenced by Gullah culture in South Carolina. Despite the different
tabby, a building material that has been used throughout the coastal areas of
varieties, the Moreland project team decided to discover a way to replicate the
South Carolina, Georgia and Florida for centuries. Tabby was used initially in
original tabby effect and incorporate it into Moreland Village.
structural fortifications and later employed in residential structures during the 1700-1800s.
The final selection of tabby used in Moreland Village was based on a construction technique that uses a special blend of oyster shells of varying
Originally composed of lime, water, sand, oyster shells and ash, tabby was used in
sizes combined with Portland cement and poured into forms to create “lifts,”
colonial home construction because it was a durable, plentiful building material.
similar to the way it would have been created centuries ago. This “revival
There are many adaptations of tabby still used today – from the early Spanish version found around St. Augustine, to “Oglethorpe Tabby,” or “Spalding
tabby” is found within fireplaces, foundation walls, bars and the bowling alley cladding in Moreland and was installed by builder Choate Construction Co.
Tabby,” seen in ruins around the coastal Georgia islands, as well as other
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