The slave houses were called "quarters," which consisted generally of a
double row of houses facing each other in a grove of trees behind the
"big house." On prosperous plantations each of these cabins had a garden
plot and a chicken yard. Some of them were built of logs, but many were
of planks. Most of them were large, one-room, unceiled, with open
fireplaces at one end for cooking. When families grew too large a shed
room would be "drap down on de back." Another type of slave cabin was
called the "Double-pen" house. This was a large two-room cabin, with a
chimney between the two rooms, and accommodating two families. On the
more prosperous plantations the slave quarters were white-washed at
intervals.
On plantations housing arrangements were left entirely to the discretion
of the owner, but in the cities strict rules were made. Among the
ordinances of the City Council of Augusta, dated from August 10th,
1820-July 8, 1829, Section 14, is the following law concerning the
housing of slaves:
"No person of color shall occupy any house but that of some white person
by whom he or she is owned or hired without a license from the City
Council. If this license is required application must first be made for
permission to take it out. If granted the applicant shall give bond with
approved security, not exceeding the sum of $100.00 for his or her good
behavior. On execution of charge the Clerk shall issue the license. Any
person renting a house, or tenament contrary to this section or
permitting the occupancy of one, may be fined in a sum not exceeding
$50.00."
Descriptions were given of housing conditions by quite a number of
slaves interviewed. Fannie Fulcher, who was a slave on Dr. Balding
Miller's plantation in Burke County described the slave quarters thus:
"Houses wus built in rows, one on dat side, one on dis side--open space
in de middle, and de overseer's house at de end, wid a wide hall right
through it. (Fannie was evidently referring to the breezeway or dogtrot,
down the middle of many small plantation houses). We cook on de
fireplace in de house. We used to have pots hanging right up in de
chimbley. When dere wus lots of chillun it wus crowded. But sometimes
dey took some of 'em to de house for house girls. Some slep' on de flo'
and some on de bed. Two-three houses had shed rooms at de back. Dey had
a patch sometime. My father, he used to have a patch. He clean it up
hisself at night in de swamp."
Susie Brown, of the Evans Plantation on Little River in Columbia County
said, in describing the Quarters, "Dey look like dis street." She
indicated the unpaved street with its rows of unpainted shacks. "Some of
dem wus plank houses and some wus log houses, two rooms and a shed room.
And we had good beds, too--high tester beds wid good corn shuck and hay
mattresses."
On the plantation of John Roof the slave cabins were of logs. Large
families had two or three rooms; smaller ones one or two rooms.
Susannah Wyman, who was a slave on the Starling Freeman place near Troy,
S.C. said, "Our houses wus made outer logs. We didn't have nothin' much
nohow, but my mammy she had plenty o' room fer her chillun. We didn't
sleep on de flo', we had bed. De people in de plantachun all had bed."
Others described mattresses made of straw and corn shucks. Another said,
"Yas'm, we had good cotton mattresses. Marster let us go to de gin house
and git all de cotton we need."
Another described the sleeping conditions thus, "Chillun pretty much
slep' on de flo' and old folks had beds. Dey wus made out o' boards
nailed togedder wid a rope strung across it instead o' springs, and a
cotton mattress across it."