<P> The outbreak of war in 1861 put an abrupt end to the building of grand mansions . Following the war and the end of Reconstruction, the economy was drastically altered . Planters often did not have the funds for upkeep of their existing houses and new construction virtually ceased on most plantations . The new sharecropping method kept many plantations going, but the days of extravagance were over . </P> <P> Slave housing, although once one of the most common and distinctive features of the plantation landscape, has largely disappeared from most of the South . Many were insubstantial to begin with . Only the better - built examples tended to survive, and then usually only if they were re-purposed for other uses after emancipation . Slave quarters could be adjacent to the main house, well away from it, or both . On large plantations they were often arranged in a village - like grouping along an avenue away from the main house, but sometimes were scattered around the plantation on the edges of the fields where the slaves toiled, like most of the sharecropper cabins that were to come later . </P> <P> Slave houses were often one of the most basic construction . Meant for little more than sleeping, they were usually rough log or frame one - room cabins; early examples often had chimneys made of clay and sticks . Hall and parlor houses (two rooms) were also represented on the plantation landscape, offering a separate room for eating and sleeping . Sometimes dormitories and two - story dwellings were also used as slave housing . Earlier examples rested on the ground with a dirt floor, but later examples were usually raised on piers for ventilation . Most of these represent the dwellings constructed for field slaves . Rarely though, such as at the former Hermitage Plantation in Georgia and Boone Hall in South Carolina, even field slaves were provided with brick cabins . </P> <P> More fortunate in their accommodations were the house servants or skilled laborers . They usually resided either in a part of the main house or in their own houses, which were normally more comfortable dwellings than those of their counterparts who worked in the fields . A few slave owners went even further to provide housing for their household servants . When Waldwic in Alabama was remodeled in the Gothic Revival style in the 1852, the household servants were provided with large accommodations that matched the architecture of the main house . This model, however, was exceedingly rare . </P>

Where were plantation complexes located primarily in the 17th century