Stone Walls
It all begins with a stone. Stone by stone in the 1840s, my ancestor cleared the fields on the family farm in Dutchess County's Milan hills and began to build this stone wall. It remains a testament to the pioneering spirit of these early settlers. Through the seasons, it captures the imagination as I consider its role as a natural marker of moments throughout nearly two centuries of local history.
As a child, I walked this path and heard the stories of the farmers who plowed these fields, the women who gardened and the children who walked to school. My love of history and storytelling was nurtured here; repeating these same steps today, I am transported to a place of quiet reflection. Autumn’s remaining yellow leaves rustle and fall gently on the wall, yet a stone wall set against the backdrop of falling snow will soon follow. If I must select a favorite, I choose this moment- here and now to walk along the stone wall.
“My father laid the wall.”
Excerpt from my book Stone By Stone:
In 1939, Burton Barker Coon described how his father William cleared the land and built the stone wall pictured on the left and the foundation for the barn
“The land had to be cleaned and cleared of stumps and stones and some of it ditched and drained. The stones were dumped into ditches, or laid into stone walls, and what could not be used that way were piled into great heaps on rocks or some out of the way place. These heaps of stones are in evidence today and are mute witnesses to the industry and perseverance of the pioneer. The basement wall of the barn at Trail’s End is 9 feet high and 100 feet long. That represents a lot of labor, besides the unnumbered loads of stones which it took to fill in behind it – perhaps a thousand in all. Where did they all come from? Who picked them up? How were they conveyed to their last resting place? All I know is that my father laid the wall and it stands today in almost perfect alignment. That was 75 years ago.”
“Stone by stone. They cleared the land.”
My words in the Foreword of Stone By Stone:
“As I walked from the Shookville Methodist Church along the stone wall erected from the surrounding fields, I paused to reflect on how this wall stood as a testament to my ancestors’ tenacity. As I stood beside it, I found a place to contemplate how the land might have appeared before any inhabitants. I imagined how my ancestors, descendants of Palatine immigrants, first stood here on soil that seemingly only grew rocks. Yet, they began by moving one stone. Stone by stone, these mighty souls persevered. Stone by stone, they overcame each burden. Stone by stone, they cleared the land. Stone by stone, they built a farm and a family.”
“Another relic of the past that is fast disappearing is the stone wall..”
Burton Coon writes "Then and Now” May 29th 1930 #1:
Another relic of the past that is fast disappearing is the stone wall. We put in a little over 1/4 mile of stone base road in the neighborhood this spring - 1430 ft. to be exact - and it took a lot of stones. I say “we”, because our town seems too poor to stand all the expense so some of us taxpayers throw in the stones and the town manages to put the gravel on and roll it down. How’s that for cooperation? When it is finished, it will be as good as any state road for the traffic it gets. Time was when these stones were laid up in walls at 50 cents a rod, and men made a business of it and a living at it. Fifty cents then not only went further in purchasing power, but in its ability to make people contented. The necessaries of life were not as numerous as they are now. A little went a long way. Contentment is indigenous. You have it or you don’t. And no amount of possessions will increase it.
“It took a homely man to lay a good stone wall..”
Burton Coon writes "Then and Now” May 29th 1930 #2:
At the present time it would cost more to have those old stone walls laid over than they would be worth. And I doubt if a man could be found with experience and skill enough to do it. A neighbor years ago told me that “it took a homely man to lay a good stone wall”. Maybe people are getting too good looking to be useful. The old rule used to be that “handsome is as handsome does”. If everybody believed that to be true, what a revolution it would work in conduct and cosmetics.
“Those old wall layers belonged to a class that has disappeared. ”
Burton Coon writes "Then and Now” May 29th 1930 #3:
Those old wall layers belonged to a class that has disappeared entirely. I refer to the pioneer laborer. He would look the country over and pick out a place where water was handy, and soil for a garden. It was usually a sheltered place, often some distance back from the highway. As he had no horse or vehicle, he needed no road. A footpath was sufficient. There he built him a shack, sometimes a very comfortable house. Lumber was cheap and labor cheaper. And time - why he had any amount of it! There he ate and slept and rested in one room - a combined kitchen, dining room, parlor, bedroom and laundry. All his troubles were packed up in a small compass. There might be a cellar under the house or at one side. and a garret - nothing more. There he raised his family, anywhere from half a dozen to ten or twelve children, and a doctor seldom entered the house. In case of emergency, some old woman in the neighborhood could act as lay physician, nurse and housekeeper. In the dooryard was a clump of lilacs, and in the garden was rhubarb, and chives, and hoarhound and sage and wormwood. Over by the spring was peppermint and spearmint, and down in the swamp plenty of boneset. The woods abounded with wintergreen and pennyroyal, and the fields with all manner of herbs for salves and medicine. And the average woman knew how to use these things to great advantage. Wood was plentiful. He had pre-empted the land. So why worry. Contentment? Why it grew on the very bushes!