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"T" is for Tabby

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"T" is for Tabby. Tabby is a building material consisting of oyster shells, lime, sand, and water that is poured into a wooden mold and then tamped down. It is then left to harden for several days, after which the molds are removed and reused—with successive layers of a wall being built one on top of another until the structure reaches the desired height. With brick and stone scarce along the coast and on the Sea Islands, tabby became a durable, low-cost material for fortifications, houses, outbuildings, stores, and churches. Although Spaniards were using tabby in 17th century Florida, it was not until the 18th century that its use became common in South Carolina—especially in the Beaufort area. Today only a handful of tabby structures are still standing in Beaufort and on the Sea Islands.

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Dr. Walter Edgar has two programs on South Carolina Public Radio: Walter Edgar's Journal, and South Carolina from A to Z. Dr. Edgar received his B.A. degree from Davidson College in 1965 and his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1969. After two years in the army (including a tour of duty in Vietnam), he returned to USC as a post-doctoral fellow of the National Archives, assigned to the Papers of Henry Laurens.