University of Kentucky
Reassigning Values: Stone Fences and the Cultural Landscape of Kentucky
Institution
University of Kentucky
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Clyde Carpenter; Karl Raitz
Abstract
The built environment of Central Kentucky is comprised of many elements that together define the landscape symbol vocabulary of the Bluegrass. One of the most endearing (yet quickly diminishing) symbols of this region is the rock fence, particularly the dry stone masonry fences of the horse farms of Kentucky. Though much scholarly research has been devoted to these fences as historic artifacts, very little study has examined their value as popular icons of the area’s regional identity. The subject of my research then is a case study of the changing values that have transformed the stone fence from a utilitarian object to a regional symbol used in civic and commercial architecture. These recreations of nineteenth century historic stone walls have been termed the post facto walls of the Bluegrass for distinction. The stone fence became a cultural artifact of the Bluegrass through the region’s unique geographical and social features. Though originally a functional element of the agrarian landscape, new technologies and changing economic conditions forced poorer farmers to tear their fences down. Wealthy Bluegrass estates began erecting the first post facto stone fences as a symbol of the Bluegrass way of life. Post facto stone fences entered the realm of commercial architecture as a result of urban expansion in the 1960s and 1970s that threatened the rural estates of the region. The use of stone, liberated from traditional methods of fence construction, is increasingly used in civic and commercial spaces in Central Kentucky as a symbol of the region’s heritage and uniqueness.
Reassigning Values: Stone Fences and the Cultural Landscape of Kentucky
The built environment of Central Kentucky is comprised of many elements that together define the landscape symbol vocabulary of the Bluegrass. One of the most endearing (yet quickly diminishing) symbols of this region is the rock fence, particularly the dry stone masonry fences of the horse farms of Kentucky. Though much scholarly research has been devoted to these fences as historic artifacts, very little study has examined their value as popular icons of the area’s regional identity. The subject of my research then is a case study of the changing values that have transformed the stone fence from a utilitarian object to a regional symbol used in civic and commercial architecture. These recreations of nineteenth century historic stone walls have been termed the post facto walls of the Bluegrass for distinction. The stone fence became a cultural artifact of the Bluegrass through the region’s unique geographical and social features. Though originally a functional element of the agrarian landscape, new technologies and changing economic conditions forced poorer farmers to tear their fences down. Wealthy Bluegrass estates began erecting the first post facto stone fences as a symbol of the Bluegrass way of life. Post facto stone fences entered the realm of commercial architecture as a result of urban expansion in the 1960s and 1970s that threatened the rural estates of the region. The use of stone, liberated from traditional methods of fence construction, is increasingly used in civic and commercial spaces in Central Kentucky as a symbol of the region’s heritage and uniqueness.