Stafford Plantation (The Chimneys)

Robert Stafford acquired portions of lands belonging to General Nathanael Greene through auction, and continued to assemble former Greene family lands so that by 1830 Stafford controlled 1,360 acres with 148 slaves. In 1843 Stafford acquired 4,200 acres from P.M. Nightingale, a Greene descendant who retained Dungeness. The primary crop was Sea Island cotton. All that remains of Stafford's house is a ruin known as "the Chimneys," a series of 24 hearth-and-chimney structures representing Stafford's slaves' housing, about one kilometer east of the main house.

Stafford continued to live on his plantation, but was left with no slaves to work the fields. His former slaves wouldn't work for him but still lived in the cabins. There's speculation that he burned the slave cabins because they were now freedmen. However, archaeological evidence is uncertain. All that remains are three parallel rows of chimneys in the forest. In 2004, work began on stablizing them. At one point, the lessee of the plantation threatened to remove the chimney ruins. The NPS stopped him. There have been no further issues.

Stafford died in 1877. His heirs sold the property to Thomas M. Carnegie and his wife Lucy, who had also acquired Dungeness. She built other estates for her children, including Greyfield for Margaret Carnegie, Plum Orchard for George Lauder Carnegie, and Stafford Plantation. By this time, the Carnegies owned 90 percent of the island. The property is privately held under a life estate by a Carnegie descendant within Cumberland Island National Seashore.

Clark, Traci Eugenia. Falling to Pieces: The Preservation of Ruins in Coastal Georgia, Accessed July 28th 2020. https://getd.libs.uga.edu/pdfs/clark_traci_e_200612_mhp.pdf.