Kingsley Plantation, Slave Quarters, 11676 Palmetto Avenue, Jacksonville, Duval County, FL

Significance: Among the most notable of the surviving structures at Kingsley Plantation are the ruins of 25 (of 32) tabby slave houses. Most likely erected by Zephaniah Kingsley ca. 1822-30 the quarters were inhabited by slaves until the end of the Civil War and subsequently by freedpeople. By the late 1870s, however, most had fallen into disrepair and several were dismantled by John Rollins in order to build a dock and boathouse from tabby slabs. Nonetheless, the quarters designated as E1 still retained most of its roof framing when it was documented by HABS in 1934. Quarters E1 was restored by the state of Florida after its acquisition in 1966. A subsequent restoration of the building was undertaken by the National Park Service in 2004.

The Quarters are perhaps most notable for their siting and spatial organization. The 32 houses were arrayed in a vast semicircular arc (approximate 350 radius) which was bisected by Palmetto Avenue, the entrance road to the plantation. The two houses adjacent to the road (E1 and W1) and the two houses at the ends (E16 and W16) were built larger than the others. In plan each of the quarters consisted of one or two rooms with a fireplace at one end. The walls of the quarters were constructed of tabby poured into molds that extended the full height of the building, and then plastered. Wood framing supported the shingled roof. Remnants of tabby floors survive in several of the quarters. At an unknown date, the fireplaces in several of the quarters were rebuilt in clay brick.

Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N1017

Survey number: HABS FL-478-A

National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 70000182

slave quarters plantations jacksonville beach kingsley plantation kingsley plantation slave quarters palmetto palmetto avenue jacksonville duval duval county florida paul a davidson historic american buildings survey virginia b price mark schara photo ultra high resolution high resolution american civil war civil war library of congress national register of historic places

1934 - 1970

Library of Congress

http://www.loc.gov/

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