Reshaping history: Palmetto Bluff site might hold early American octagonal house

[Confederate Kahanist]

http://www.islandpacket.com/2010/02/20/1145587/reshaping-history-palmetto-bluff.html



Tabby ruins on the banks of the May River are not unusual, so archaeologists at Palmetto Bluff thought little of the weathered remnants they found near one of the upscale inn's cottages.

But when they began to unearth the structure last fall, they discovered it formed an unusual -- and possibly historically significant -- shape.

An octagon.

Based on historical documents, artifacts found at the site, a Georgia Historical Society map and a letter written in 1796 by a visitor, archaeologists at Palmetto Bluff believe the octagonal home might be the first of its kind in the U.S. If they are correct, the building would predate what is now widely considered to be the first octagonal home, Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest, built in the 1820s near Lynchburg, Va.

"There was a whole movement of octagonal houses, but it wasn't until the 1850s," said archaeologist Heather Cline. "We think this home was built around 1790."

William McKimmy owned the 18th-century, 900-acre plantation where the octagonal building stood.

"We knew the wall was there, and we knew McKimmy owned the land," said archaeologist Mary Socci. "We just needed to confirm it."

ECCENTRIC SCOTSMAN

McKimmy was 20 when he emigrated from Scotland to Charleston around 1768 and worked as a barrel maker. The entrepreneur later bought Beef Island -- known today as Myrtle Island -- and the 900-acre tract in present-day Palmetto Bluff.

Little is known about the plantation. McKimmy never married, and he owned about 75 slaves when he died of palsy in 1799. The slaves are thought to have built the octagonal structure, Cline said.

The most compelling evidence archaeologists have corroborating that the home was built before Poplar Forest is a letter written by Margaret Cowpers, who visited the plantation in 1796.

"The letter dates the house as being built before ... 1796," Cline said.

Cowpers' letter tells of the plantation and its eccentric owner:

"Mr. McKimmy is a Scotsman and you've heard Aunt Bourke speak of his octagon house, it is literally that ... tho not a physician by profession, he has his medicines arranged in completest order in one triangle. He appears partial to triangles."

THE RUINS

Cline and Socci discovered a wall corner last fall. They used the angle of the above-ground wall -- about 135 degrees -- to measure out from its intersecting points and found the corner of another wall, Cline said.

The intersecting angle of the excavated wall to the above ground tabby wall was also 135 degrees.

"It was an exact octagon! Then we were able to measure out the angles and determine how big the structure was," Cline said.

She estimated the home was about 900 square feet.

Archaeologists found pieces of glass, bits of animal boneand nails and brick pieces. "We also found some artifacts, including a ceramic piece, from the 1790s," Cline said.

A newspaper article from Charleston in 1802 -- which called the home "Octagon Plantation" -- said the structure had underground storerooms.

"We did dig down to the floor, cleared it off and dug underneath it to see how thick it was," said Socci. "It's not a basement like you would think of in the North, but there was one story underground that was probably used as storage. It was described in the newspaper as one of the selling points of the house at auction."

The house was never lived in again after McKimmy died.

In his will, he left the plantation to his Scottish nephew, but the heir never settled there and the property was sold at auction. Cline believes the house may have been destroyed by a hurricane in 1804.

REMAINING QUESTIONS

For local historians, the discovery of the peculiar octagon-shaped ruins raises intriguing questions.

Jeff Eley, a professor of architectural history at the Savannah College of Art and Design, said that if the site predates Jefferson's Poplar Forest, it would be "a remarkable find."

"The idea that something like that was built here at that time would be highly unusual," Eley said.

Before 1800, octagonal buildings in the U.S. were not unknown, but they were predominately public buildings, such as schools and courthouses. Other structures included an arsenal built in Williamsburg, Va., and garden houses built by George Washington.

"They were few and far between," Eley said. "And a 900-square-foot structure would be a sizable building."

But one historian is skeptical about the structure's historic significance.

Travis McDonald, director of archaeological restoration at Poplar Forest, has been researching octagonal homes for over 20 years and said he has yet to find any full-size homes built before Jefferson's.

"My immediate question would be whether it was a full-blown house," McDonald said.

Meanwhile, the Palmetto Bluff archaeologists say the site will be protected. It was recently recorded with the S.C. Historic Preservation Office, Socci said, and it has been re-covered with dirt for preservation purposes.

"The riverbank is stabilized, and the site will be preserved," she said.

Socci and Cline say they will continue to research the octagon in the hopes of solving its mystery.

"The home would have been really unusual for that time," Socci said. "It's very interesting that he would have chosen to build it, and it's unfortunate that we don't have any papers explaining why."