The Ruins of Chocolate Plantation

Built around 1819, Chocolate Plantation got its name from a Guale Indian village on the island named Chucalate. The slave houses still stand today. The thick walls of tabby have held up for these many years. Made from burning oyster shells over a grate, the heat turned the shells into a powder and made lime. When mixed with equal parts of sand, water, and broken oyster shells to give the substance extra body, it turned into the equivalent of cement. It was used extensively in building many homes during that time.