Central Kentucky's Legendary Rock Fences
Central Kentucky is world famous for Thoroughbred horses and endless miles of rock fences (Dry stone walls).
There are more rock fences here than any place in the USA. In Central Kentucky only 5 -10% of these 19th century rock fences built by Irish Immigrant stonemasons still stand.
These stonemasons passed their craft on to black slaves that became masters of the craft of building rock walls. This is where the term,"slave walls" came about. Since I grew up here in the Bluegrass, this is what I had always thought they were. I had no idea that the walls originated with the Irish immigration to the Bluegrass!
Our walls are mostly built with local limestone that is plentiful in the fields. Once cleared and prepared for agriculture, the stone was easily used as border walls to pastures. All the stones are laid free-handed with no mortar. My examples of Central Kentucky's legendary rock fences below were photographed on Spears Mill Rd. in Bourbon County, Kentucky. These walls are where the bridge crosses Stoner Creek.
Building these rock fences has almost become a lost art. Dry Stone Conservancy in Lexington, KY is dedicated to preserving dry-stone structures and training a new generation of artisans in their construction and maintenance.
Fayette and Scott counties have ordinances to prevent removal of rock fences in public rights-of-way. This has protected many from disappearing forever. When they get damaged in large sections from accidents it is difficult to restore them and many just fade away.
I drive by these everyday and I have to respect the time that went in to design and building them from materials from our beautiful land.
Every now and then you see the bumper sticker that says, "Growth Destroys Bluegrass Forever". It is true.
I always laugh and tell people that I live in the land where time stands still... but I do see it fading away stone by stone. Sad that we all want progress and conveniences. One day in the future all this will just be these few pictures I took on a sunny March day in 2008. A moment in time.
Kentucky ROCKS!
Come see it now.
Lizette Fitzpatrick- Principal Broker at Lizette Realty.
#1 featured Kentucky Realtor on Activerain.com and Localism.com.
Publisher/Author for the only Central Kentucky email newsletter on local real estate listings and sold properties, Kentucky relocation, local events, homeowner information and fun!
For more information on Lizette, Kentucky Horse Farms, Lizette Realty, Madison County, Fayette County, Richmond or Lexington KY real estate
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See for yourself what Lizette's extraordinary clients have to say about their Kentucky Real Estate experience. Copyright © 2009 By Lizette Fitzpatrick, All Rights Reserved..*Central kentucky's Legendary Rock Fences*
Timeless and soulful! Amazing to think about when those were made.
Have a glorious Easter weekend!
Troy - I guess things really did move kind of slow back then. Most roads were just carriage paths. The would have really been a cool picture.
Jim & Maria - I hope these works of art make it with the passage of time. The walls might be there but the horse statue won't be!
Hi Lizette - that horse made out of rocks is incredible! I love stone walls, and we have them all over the place here. We have laws on the books making it illegal to remove any stones from any rock/stone walls here in NH. The stone walls in your pictures are beautiful - and it would be a shame to see that kind of work and beauty disappear one day.
Ann
There is a section of KY 17 in northern Pendleton County that has several hundred feet of rock fence. I'd always wondered about its' history and this post provided lots of good information.
It's amazing what someones imagination can come up with.