History Has Stories Yet to be Told

DISCOVER THE BARNWELL TABBY: Hilton Head Island's Oldest Pre-Revolutionary War Structure

The Barnwell Tabby

An Unearthed Chapter of Hilton Head's Past

Standing for nearly three centuries, this structure tells a story that's still revealing its secrets. Once thought to date from the 1800s, this north island landmark was actually built between 1730-1750 — predating the American Revolution and challenging earlier beliefs about Hilton Head Island’s colonial period.

What is the Barnwell Tabby?

Along a quiet stretch of Squire Pope Road stands a building that represents the beginning of colonial America on Hilton Head Island.

Built of "tabby"—a coastal building material made by mixing lime, water, sand, oyster shells, and ash—these walls tell many stories. Archaeological research reveals that the oyster shells came from ancient Native American shell middens (piles) nearby. At the same time, the construction techniques reflect West African building traditions brought by Africans forced into slavery along the Carolina coast.

The structure's age remained a mystery until recently. Using Optical Stimulated Luminescence — a technique that determines when sand grains last saw sunlight — researchers confirmed its mid-18th (mid-1700s) century origins, making it the oldest discovered structure on Hilton Head Island after the Native American shell rings.

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What Makes The Tabby Special

  • Barnwell tabby ruins

    Much Older Than Expected

    Recent research dates this building to 1730-1750 — not the mid-1800s as previously believed

  • View of a small window opening in a wall made of concrete with embedded shells, showing a palm tree outside on green grass and a sunny sky.

    Unique Window Design

    Angled window frames might have provided a wider range of sight for defense

  • map of hilton head island

    Strategic Location

    Built near important waterways, perfectly positioned for farming, trading, or possibly defense

  • A person's hand with purple painted nails pointing at a Barnwell Tabby wall with small shells embedded in it.

    Ongoing Research

    Questions continue to emerge about the Tabby’s original purpose and the people connected to it

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A watercolor painting by Dr. Katherine Seeber depicting construction of the tabby. One stands behind a wooden fence, and another woman in a headscarf is working nearby. There is a large cooking pot in the lower left corner and a cloudy sky overhead.

When we refer to the Barnwell Tabby as "the oldest structure on Hilton Head Island," we are talking about structures built just before and during European settlement.

The true oldest structures on Hilton Head Island are the Native American shell rings, which date back approximately 4,000 years and represent the remarkable engineering and community organization of the island's original inhabitants. These ancient shell rings deserve recognition and preservation alongside more recent historical structures like the Barnwell Tabby.

Ancient History

A Structure Full of Mysteries

A simple illustration of the Barnwell Tabby by Beegee Tolpa with a front door, two angled windows, and a palmetto tree in the background. The color indigo in the illustration represents one of the crops formerly grown on the property.

When European settlers arrived on Hilton Head Island in the early 1700s, they encountered a landscape shaped by thousands of years of Indigenous people and communities. Following the Yamasee War (1715-1718), colonial expansion on the island intensified.

When the Yamasee War ended, European colonizers assumed control of the land, which by that point had been farmed by the Yamasee people and before that the Escamacu. Plantations producing indigo and rice began to appear across the island in areas that had been Native American-farmed fields just years before. The lands were worked by African and Native American people who had been forced into enslavement.

The Barnwell Tabby was built during this period, and its primary purpose is still a mystery. It could have been:

An Early Plantation House: Archival research initially suggested that the tabby was a two-story antebellum residence. This was noted in 1973 when Dr. Robert L. Stephenson recorded the site during a road-development survey project.

Later on, Dr. Eric Plaag, a historian, determined that the Tabby was likely Henry Ladson’s plantation home, and on the Marabuoy Plantation property.

Like many coastal plantation homes of the era, it could have been a multi-story building with many smaller buildings close by (called out buildings) to function as the kitchen, smokehouse, and enslaved people’s homes. Recovered artifacts—fragments of fine pottery, glass bottles, and personal items—paint a picture of daily life for its inhabitants.

But others believe it was something else:

A Strategic Outpost: Archaeological findings in the 1980s suggested the tabby was used for a “non-domestic” purpose, or not as a home. Dr. William Trinkley and Mr. Colin Brooker determined that the building performed an industrial or storage function.

The building's position near navigable waterways, combined with those distinctive angled windows, hints at surveillance capabilities. The Tabby sits with a strategic view towards a trading post used by colonists to trade and transport goods.

In an era when Spanish raiders, pirates, and Indigenous resistance fighters presented real concerns, such features would have offered tangible security advantages.

Also, the lack of evidence for a formal chimney or fireplace inside the building suggests it may not have been used for everyday living.

In the colonial period, a plantation house would have usually been used by a landowner while overseeing agricultural work, not for entertaining or family. Many plantation owners would have had more than one property, and spent time at all of them throughout the year.

This area of the island was a known colonial lookout location for militia (local landowners who operated as soldiers when necessary) during the Tuscarora War, Yamasee War, the Jenkins Ear War, the French and Indian War, the Cherokee War and the American Revolution.

Collection of tabby shells, dried seed pod, brick, and metalworks found on the Barnwell Tabby property.

Housing Many Stories

The property's history spans centuries. Initially, it was believed to have been part of Cotton Hope Plantation, but this theory was discredited when evidence revealed the tabby is much older than Cotton Hope Plantation (which was developed in the 1790s).

A newer theory is that Henry Ladson may have owned the property in the mid-18th century and called it Marabuoy Plantation. This is still being researched.

The Tabby sits only a few miles from Mitchelville, the first free Black town in the American South.

Current owner and primary caretaker Thomas Barnwell Jr.'s great-great-grandparents escaped enslavement from nearby Rose Hill Plantation to Mitchelville with their young children sometime around 1863 (middle of the Civil War).

In the 1930s, Thomas Barnwell Sr. purchased the land from Queen Smalls, but the property line went right through the middle of the tabby. The other half belonged to his cousins, Ruth and Cora Jones.

Tom Sr. died in 1971, and his wife, Hannah White Barnwell, assumed title to the property.  Hannah transferred ownership to Barnwell Jr. in 1986.

Barnwell Jr. and Ruth Jones raised cattle on the adjoining properties after Cora Jones left for New York.

In 1991, the Jones’ heir, Bessie Orage, did a land swap, giving Barnwell Jr. full ownership of the Tabby and the ability to preserve it.

Preserving Our Shared History

Pre-restoration image of the Barnwell Tabby, Hilton Head Island's oldest standing structure. Until the owners realized the importance of the structure, it provided shelter for the family's goats and horses.
BArnwell Tabby restoration site with wooden framing for a gate or door between large textured stone walls, located off Squire Pope Road, Hilton Head Island, SC.
Barnwell Tabby under construction with wooden framework and scaffolding, set against a backdrop of trees and a blue sky.
Finished restoration of the Barnwell Tabby with a wooden pavilion roof to protect the delicate tabby walls, surrounded by palm trees.
Illustration of the Barnwell Tabby with a textured exterior, three windows, and a slanted roof.

The year 2009 marked the beginning of an extraordinary undertaking. After nearly three centuries of hurricane winds, punishing rains, and aging, the Barnwell Tabby was in ruins.

Thomas Barnwell Jr. decided to restore the Tabby.

The Barnwell family initiated and funded an ambitious restoration, bringing together experts who could breathe new life into the crumbling walls:

  • Architect Colin Brooker, renowned for his work with historic coastal structures, created a restoration plan honoring original construction methods

  • Tabby specialist Rick Wightman meticulously reconstructed damaged sections using historically appropriate materials

  • The team even sourced specific species of shells from Florida to match the original composition

As workers carefully stabilized the structure, something happened. Objects began emerging from the soil—fragments of colonial pottery, hand-forged nails, clay pipe stems, buttons, and tools. Each item offered a tantalizing glimpse into the lives of those who had occupied this space generations ago.

At Mr. Barnwell’s request, Dr. Kimberly Cavanagh, an anthropologist at the University of South Carolina Beaufort, assembled a research team that included archaeologist Dr. Audrey Dawson and historian Dr. Eric Plaag, to begin a systematic investigation of the site.

Their excavations yielded over 800 cataloged artifacts. Inside the building, they uncovered six layers of prepared cement tabby floors beneath the soil, along with animal bones, charcoal, and pottery fragments. In the center of the ruins, a thick layer of tabby mixed with substantial charcoal deposits suggests the presence of a hearth—the literal and figurative heart of the building.

Today, a specially designed pavilion roof protects the structure without compromising its historical integrity, ensuring this piece of history will continue to share its secrets with future generations.

Dr. Katherine Seeber of Carolina Community Archaeology is currently leading work to communicate these incredible stories and make them accessible to everyone

Unearthed Evidence Can Transform History

A watercolor painting by Dr. Katherine Seeber, lead Barnwell Tabby historian and archaeologist, depicting a pre-Civil War scene with enslaved people, animals, and buildings.

Hilton Head Island 1755

Here’s how:

The team corrected misunderstandings and local legends about Hilton Head.

Then created awareness of 18th-century (1700s) life, including how long slave-labor plantations existed on the island.

They collaborated with the town of Hilton Head Island and other organizations to promote the education of updated local history.

Artifacts found at the Tabby

Meet the Tabby Team

Meet a few of the dedicated citizens, archaeologists, historians, architectural specialists, students, Mitchelville descendants, and local organizations working to uncover the full story of the Barnwell Tabby. They all work to combine traditional field methods with cutting-edge technology and educational outreach, creating a more complete picture of this remarkable building and the people connected to it.

  • Thomas Barnwell, Jr.

    Thomas Barnwell, Jr.

    Barnwell Tabby Property Owner, 5th Generation Descendant

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  • Dr. Kimberly Cavanagh

    Dr. Kimberly Cavanagh

    Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of South Carolina Beaufort

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  • Dr. Katherine Seeber, historian and archaeologist, with long brown hair, wearing a straw hat, a gray shirt, and a blue plaid flannel shirt, standing outdoors in front of a sign that reads 'Harriet Tubman Way' amidst green trees.

    Dr. Katherine Seeber

    Owner and Lead Archaeologist, Carolina Community Archaeology

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  • Dr. Audrey Dawson

    Adjunct Professor of Anthropology, University of South Carolina Beaufort

  • Rick Wightman

    Historian & Craftsman, Builder

  • Colin Brooker

    Tabby Specialist & Architect, Brooker Architectural Design Consultants

Meet the Barnwells

The Barnwell Tabby is an archaeological site that has been in the care of the Barnwell family for over eighty years. The care, preservation, and stewardship of this important historical resource has been fully conducted and largely financed by the Barnwell Family.

Thomas C. Barnwell, Jr. is a fifth-generation Hilton Head Islander, tracing his family’s history back to enslavement on Rose Hill Plantation. His great-great-grandparents, Ceasar and Mariah Jones, escaped to Mitchelville and later purchased 100 acres in what is now referred to as the Jonesville section of Hilton Head Island.

A collection of vintage photos: a black-and-white outdoor group photo with people standing in a line, some holding objects; a sepia-toned portrait of a woman with short hair and a necklace; a black-and-white U.S. Navy portrait of a woman in uniform.

Thomas and Susan, his wife, are committed to creating community, honoring history, and empowering accessible education, all of which is what drives this project.

Some of their past work includes founding the Beaufort Jasper Comprehensive Health Center and championing sanitation systems for historically underserved communities.

The Barnwells believe in using this historic property as a tool for education and awareness, ensuring that all layers of Hilton Head Island's past are recognized and respected.

Thomas has been inducted into the Town of Hilton Head Island Hall of Fame and co-wrote Gullah Days: Hilton Head Islanders Before the Bridge.

Read more about Thomas’s background on The History Makers website.

The Barnwell Tabby's grassy field with several palm trees under a partly cloudy blue sky.

VISIT the TABBY

Experience History Firsthand

Experience 300 Years of History

Though privately owned, the Barnwell Tabby welcomes scheduled groups who seek to understand Hilton Head Island's rich past and the diverse peoples who shaped it.

Educational visits offer:

  • Guided interpretation of the structure's architectural features

  • Insights into tabby construction techniques

  • Discussion of archaeological findings and their significance

  • Connections to broader themes in American history

  • The opportunity to stand where generations before have stood

The site accommodates school groups, historical societies, community organizations, and media teams interested in sharing this important story.

Contact us to arrange an educational visit that brings history to life for your group.

Resources for Educators & History Buffs

The Barnwell Tabby offers educators and history buffs a rare opportunity — a chance to engage directly with 300 years of American history through a single, tangible structure.

The Barnwell Tabby is bringing textbooks to life, allowing learners to:

  • Witness construction techniques that blend African, European, and Native American traditions

  • Understand how archaeologists use material evidence to reconstruct the past

  • Trace the complex patterns of ownership, labor, and land use that shaped coastal communities

  • Learn more about the enduring impact of the Gullah Geechee cultural heritage on the Carolina Lowcountry

We're in the process of developing classroom resources designed to spark curiosity and critical thinking:

  • Lesson resources aligned with state and national standards

  • Illustrated timelines connecting local developments to broader historical events

  • Primary source collections with guided analysis activities

  • Virtual tour options for remote classrooms

Children observing the Barnwell Tabby archaeological excavation site in the ground, surrounded by a yellow string and with a small trowel inside the excavation.

students assisting the excavation in 2020

The site has already welcomed hundreds of students, including nearly 200 third-graders who experienced the thrill of participating in actual archaeological fieldwork under professional guidance.

Join the Journey of Discovery

History isn't set in stone—it evolves as we uncover new evidence and perspectives. The Barnwell Tabby continues to reveal its secrets, with each discovery reshaping our understanding of Hilton Head's past.

Be part of this ongoing exploration:

Two women are kneeling on the ground inside the Barnwell Tabby, working on a small excavation with tools, surrounded by construction materials, with exposed walls and windows in the background.

LEARN MORE

Line drawing of an open book with detailed pages.
Book cover titled "Gullah Days: Hilton Head Islanders Before the Bridge 1861-1956" co-authored by Barnwell Tabby owner, Thomas Barnwell, Jr.

Gullah Days
by Thomas Barnwell Jr.

The Gullah culture, though borne of isolation and slavery, thrived on the US East Coast sea islands from pre-Civil War times until today, and nowhere more prominently than on Hilton Head Island, SC.

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