Rock Fences of the Bluegrass (review)

Southeastern Geographer Vol. XXXII, No. 2, November 1992, pp. 173-180 REVIEWS Rock Fences of the Bluegrass. Carolyn Murray-Wooley and Karl Raitz. Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky, 1992. ? and 220 pp., maps, photographs, appendices, notes, references, glossary, and index. $35.00 cloth (ISRN 0-8131-1762-3) Nothing fixes our estimate ofa planter sooner than the character ofhis enclosures. A big, high, well-laid fence, with good gates and fixtures, can hide a multitude of failures at other points. Soil of the South, 1854. The above quote, cited in Rock Fences of the Bluegrass, reveals much about the image that fences conveyed and their prominence in 19th century agrarian landscapes. At that time, there were relatively few agricultural failures to be concealed in the Rluegrass Region of Kentucky . Rock fences became the preferred form of enclosure and symbolized an exceptionally rich land and agricultural system. Today, remaining fences continue to be identified with the affluent heritage of a notable cultural landscape. The inherently geographic processes that placed miles ofrock fences across central Kentucky have been less well-recognized. Murray-Wooley and Raitz note that popular ideas of the processes include overly simplified or erroneous explanations. For example, some have concluded that rock fencing was a by-product of clearing fields for cultivation or pasturage. While some fences were built of field rocks, quarried stone was used for many others. A more widely held view contends that slaves built the fences in agricultural offseasons during the antebellum Period. African Americans played important roles as fence masons, but available records indicate that they did so as freedmen after the Civil War. These misconceptions have masked linkages among the area's physical geography , cultural traditions, and other places where rock fences were built. The authors develop those themes in successive chapters on landforms and quarrying, construction, traditions, origins of fence masons, activities on a large 19th century Rourbon County farm, and forces of change that necessitate preservation. Varying rock characteristics and techniques employed by individual fence masons produced diverse fence morphologies. Details of these differences, enhanced by a glossary ofrock fence construction terminol- 174Southeastern Geographer ogy, are discussed and lavishly illustrated in photographs from extensive field surveys. A balanced presentation interprets archival data that connect fence construction with methods and landscape preferences of Scottish and Irish settlers. These linkages became clearer and stronger with the mid 19th century immigration of Irish stonemasons. Drawn to the area by jobs in turnpike construction, they stayed to build frontage and field fences. Federal Censuses of 1870 enumerate African American masons who acquired skills, presumably from the Irish, and descendants of both groups carried those techniques into the present. An appendix recording the long heritage of Kentucky fence masons documents the tradition . That record capsules the larger settlement process which gave Kentucky fences more commonality with those in the Rritish Isles than with fences elsewhere in America. Ron Garrison's color photographs round out the presentation by capturing the charm and individuality ofexisting fences. Most appear in the rougher land of the Eden Shale Hills. Changing land uses and agricultural technology, wider roads, and pressures of urbanization have removed many from the Inner Rluegrass. Perhaps a bit more could have been made of the influence that distance from these forces has played. More important is the authors' observation that standing fences occur largely by chance, not because offormal preservation programs. A listing ofactive rock fence preservation groups in Great Rritain provides a study in contrasts. The Kentucky Heritage Council, sponsors of the initial research, did well in selecting the volume to inaugurate its educational series. It is a superb book, engagingly written, thoroughly researched, and beautifully illustrated. For geographers and architectural historians, it demonstrates the value of interdisciplinary research and careful synthesis of an array of information. Rock Fences of the Bluegrass is a timely addition to the celebration that marks Kentucky's bicentennial year. Tyrel G. Moore, Department ofGeography and Earth Sciences, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223. ...