House and Garden 
and roughcast. 
“ Tabby,” prob¬ 
ably from “tapia” 
a mud wall, is a 
material compos¬ 
ed largely of 
pounded oyster 
shells, but differ¬ 
ent from the co¬ 
quin o used in 
Florida. One of 
the best known 
tabby houses in 
Savannah is the 
Owens house,also 
designed by Jay. 
“The Hermit¬ 
age,” a fine old 
Georgian place on 
the Savannah 
River, was one of 
the first houses in the bulloch house, Orleans square, savannah, designed by jay, i 8 i 8 
the Far South 
built of native brick. With the exception 
of tabby and the English brick, sent over as 
ballast for vessels, all the old houses in the 
coast region of Georgia and South Carolina 
are of black cypress. An interesting exhibit 
of its durability is afforded by the South San¬ 
tee region, a section of country now almost 
cut off from modern progress and practically 
THE POPE-BARROW HOUSE AT ATHENS, GA., BUILT IN I 84O 
abandoned. It was originally settled by 
French Huguenots, whose descendants are 
today its only inhabitants. Prior to the Revo¬ 
lution South Santee was the most populous 
and richest section of South Carolina. All 
of the earliest houses there are of black 
cypress, in which the Santee swamps abound. 
“ Hampton,” a fine old Georgian house on 
the South Santee, has solid 
columns of cypress. This 
house in the midst of deserted 
rice fields, surrounded by 
swamp lands, far from the path 
of modern progress, still tells 
the story of seigniorial life. 
The ballroom is panelled to 
the ceiling, and contains spaces 
for long wall mirrors. The 
high fireplace with its noble 
mantel is inlaid with picture 
tiles, and formerly two crys¬ 
tal candelabra, unequalled by 
anything of the kind in 
America, hung from the ceil¬ 
ing. The house is still intact, 
though sadly in need of minor 
repairs, and the broad cypress 
steps that lead to the veranda 
are worn by the feet of many 
generations. 
267 
