Steven Dutch, Professor Emeritus, Natural and Applied Sciences,
Universityof Wisconsin - Green Bay
Wormsloe contains the ruins of an eighteenth century plantation, now a state park. At left and below are views of the gate. | |
Left and below: Wormsloe has one of the most gorgeous live oak drives you can see anywhere. | |
Left and below: the only remnants of the original plantation are parts of the walls. Note the buttresses for reinforcement. | |
Left: In 1733, Wormsloe was miles from Savannah and miles from any help in case of attack. So it was built according to the traditional fortification styles of the time, with arrowhead bastions. | |
It's 1733. There are no trucks, no highways, and no rocks
for miles around. Lime for mortar is easy - just burn seashells, but
what do you do for aggregate? Answer: use seashells. In gathering the shells you probably get enough sand to supply silica for chemical reactions to set the cement (another thing they didn't have in 1713 was chemistry). This local solution to making concrete is called "tabby." Below left: tidal marsh. Below right: one of the permanent residents. |
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Created 28 March 2007, Last Update 03 June 2020