On plantations housing arrangements were left entirely to the discretion of the owner, but in the cities strict rules were made. Among the ordinances of the City Council of Augusta, dated from August 10th, 1820-July 8, 1829, Section 14, is the following law concerning the housing of slaves:
"No person of color shall occupy any house but that of some white person by whom he or she is owned or hired without a license from the City Council. If this license is required application must first be made for permission to take it out. If granted the applicant shall give bond with approved security, not exceeding the sum of $100.00 for his or her good behavior. On execution of charge the Clerk shall issue the license. Any person renting a house, or tenament contrary to this section or permitting the occupancy of one, may be fined in a sum not exceeding $50.00."
Descriptions were given of housing conditions by quite a number of slaves interviewed. Fannie Fulcher, who was a slave on Dr. Balding Miller's plantation in Burke County described the slave quarters thus: "Houses wus built in rows, one on dat side, one on dis side—open space in de middle, and de overseer's house at de end, wid a wide hall right through it. (Fannie was evidently referring to the breezeway or dogtrot, down the middle of many small plantation houses). We cook on de fireplace in de house. We used to have pots hanging right up in de chimbley. When dere wus lots of chillun it wus crowded. But sometimes dey took some of 'em to de house for house girls. Some slep' on de flo' and some on de bed. Two-three houses had shed rooms at de back. Dey had a patch sometime. My father, he used to have a patch. He clean it up hisself at night in de swamp."
Susie Brown, of the Evans Plantation on Little River in Columbia County said, in describing the Quarters, "Dey look like dis street." She indicated the unpaved street with its rows of unpainted shacks. "Some of dem wus plank houses and some wus log houses, two rooms and a shed room. And we had good beds, too—high tester beds wid good corn shuck and hay mattresses."
On the plantation of John Roof the slave cabins were of logs. Large families had two or three rooms; smaller ones one or two rooms.
Susannah Wyman, who was a slave on the Starling Freeman place near Troy, S.C. said, "Our houses wus made outer logs. We didn't have nothin' much nohow, but my mammy she had plenty o' room fer her chillun. We didn't sleep on de flo', we had bed. De people in de plantachun all had bed."
Others described mattresses made of straw and corn shucks. Another said, "Yas'm, we had good cotton mattresses. Marster let us go to de gin house and git all de cotton we need."
Another described the sleeping conditions thus, "Chillun pretty much slep' on de flo' and old folks had beds. Dey wus made out o' boards nailed togedder wid a rope strung across it instead o' springs, and a cotton mattress across it."