The Bitter End

from Southern Tides August 2021

Community Updates

The Shell Game

By Captain J. Gary "Gator" Hill

Idon’t know about y’all, but the Gator is ready for some fall, or maybe even some winter temps. Now don’t get me wrong, I love summer, but my belly loves cooler weather. Why is that, you might ask? Cooler temps bring back our oyster harvesting. From the lowcountry of South Carolina to the far southern tip of the Golden Isles, oysters have been a part of our history.

Football, beer and oyster roasts all seem to go hand-inhand. I believe our earliest residents, the Native Americans such as the Creek Nations, and even much further back, had their own versions of these activities. All along the barrier islands, huge oyster middens, those circular piles of oyster shells, are in evidence. I can’t help but think that the piles of shells were where the sports complex was. The people would sit and watch, with great interest, games like “Chunky,” and later, some version of stick ball, while drinking fermented berries or grains, and throwing down on some of the best oysters known to man. Okay, maybe I can’t support this with historical documentation, but indulge a Gator his fantasies.

So, what happened to these huge middens from that bygone era? Simple, look at our architecture and road ways. Tabby construction can be found throughout the southeast. It was made by combining lime (from burned oyster shells), water, sand, ash, and broken oyster shells. Once mixed, this slurry was poured into forms to create walls. There are many examples of early tabby construction in the area, and there’s a description of the process at Wormsloe Plantation Museum, near Isle of Hope.

Though the Spanish are commonly given credit for bringing tabby to the Americas, it is speculated that its roots may lie in the Middle East or North Africa, that it was then carried to Spain during the invasion of the Moors, and then to Florida in the 16th century. For Coastal Georgia, however, James Oglethorpe is given credit with its widespread use. After seeing tabby used frequently in Spanish-held Florida and fortifications in Port Royal Sound, he saw its value and even constructed a home of tabby for himself near Fort Frederica.

With the signing of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748, the Spanish threat was removed from the southeast. Around this time tabby fell out of common use, though many of the structures were still standing proudly. The Spalding family purchased the Oglethorpe tabby home in 1771 and shortly thereafter, Thomas Spalding was born there. This same Thomas Spalding was so impressed by the tabby home he was raised in that he took this construction to Sapelo Island where he built his Sea Island plantation with what became known as “Spalding Tabby.” This sparked a revitalization of tabby use that lasted into the 1840s.

In the 1880s when Jekyll Island saw the influx of the famous “Millionaires Club,” tabby again saw a huge revival on the island, but by the 1920s, tabby had once again fallen out of favor. This was in part due to the disappearing middens that had been ravaged earlier, and the use of Portland cement.

Like many things, the use of tabby seemed to come full circle, and by the 1980s what came to be known as “Revival Tabby” was being used. Though not made in the time-honored way, this new tabby is made by adding oyster shells to Portland cement by hand tossing the shells into the still-wet mortar layers, giving it a pseudo-tabby look.

Well guys and gals, that’s about it for me this week. Time to go fight the sun and dream about cool weather and oysters.

Till our wakes cross again, peace and love and shrimp and grits. I’ll see you on the water!

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