The following report stems from Park Service proposals to undertake preservation and stabilization work on the chimneys, a slave settlement belonging to Robert Stafford, to arrest deterioration and preserve their structural integrity. Excavations were undertaken at Cabin 15 to determine the data potential of the complex and outline mitigation issues prior to stabilization. This archeological work has been further enhanced by an examination of documentary evidence. The chimney remains of the slave quarters are standing only because of superficial effort through the years to do so. The chimneys have a tabby brick footing sunk into the surrounding sand, and herein lies a major problem with their construction. Tabby brick is soft and is subject to reslaking due to heat from the firebox and from capillary attraction. Over the years tabby subjected to these forces softens. Further deterioration results because the tremendous weight of the structure will cause it to list. As the structure pivots the footing is simultaneously expanded and compressed in direct relation to the direction of tilt. The structural failure of the chimneys is inherent in their construction. The chimneys contain substantive data about chattel culture on the Sea Islands of South Georgia in the first half of the 19th century. The island location of Stafford Plantation is a major element in its value as a research unit.
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