THOMAS SPALDING:

In 1802 Thomas Spalding purchased 4,000 acres on the south end, concurrently with de Montalet’s occupation at Chocolate. He brought in many slaves purchased in Charleston and proceeded to clear and plant. He supplied live oak for shipbuilding, planted long staple (Sea Island) cotton, sugarcane, and corn, and drained the interior of the island by a series of ditches. Spalding was a politician, banker and agriculturalist but his great love was farming and its improvement, and he was most influential and generous in relaying information and advice. Crop diversification and rotation were themes he stressed in writings. He is considered the father of the sugar industry in Georgia and the tabby walls of his sugar mill still mark the site of his enterprise.

The original South End House was designed by Spalding to withstand the heat and hurricanes. He used tabby for his building material (1 part lime, 1 part sand, 1 part shell, and 1 part water). He wrote, “I have made my walls 14 inches thick, below the lower floor two feet, and for the second story 10 inches and beyond that I would not erect tabby buildings.” He was considered to have made some of the best tabby of the time.

In 1824 a hurricane swept the island and it was claimed that the “sea (was) breaking in broad surges across and over the small field in front and onto the steps” (of the South End House). Crops and livestock suffered enormous losses, and estimates of lives lost vary between one and nine. The slaves were all safe because of the foresight of Bu Allah, a black Moslem and Spalding’s highly trusted and respected right-hand man, whose untranslated diary remains to this day an errant part of Sapelo’s historical record. Spalding disliked slavery, but found it expedient to employ slaves. However, he insisted that days should be short and temporary labor be hired for hazardous work.

The Spalding family lived on Sapelo for nearly half a century and eventually acquired ownership of nearly all of the island. However, after the demise of Thomas Spalding in 1851, the island became only a part-time home for the heirs. Vacated at the outbreak of the Civil War by its owners, Sapelo had its share of squatters during reconstruction. By the time the Spalding heirs finally regained their property, the mansion had deteriorated so far that it was no longer habitable. The family built smaller houses in the Barn Creek area and the land was disposed of with time.

In 1907 a hunting club from Macon acquired some of the south end including the ruins of the old South End House. They rebuilt the center section of the house to make a gracious house with a colonnaded front porch.