Stone wall building seminar coming to Troy’s Heritage Village and Farm Museum

Pictured are attendees of a 2017 event held at the Heritage Village and Farm Museum in Troy.

TROY — The public will soon have the chance to learn more about a hands-on craft used since the dawn of civilization.

The Heritage Village and Farm Museum at Alparon Park will offer a stone wall building seminar from Sept. 16 to 17.

A demonstration will be held on Saturday, Sept. 16 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., while a hands-on seminar will take place on Sunday, Sept. 17 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Interested attendees should wear protective clothing, such as gloves, appropriate shoes and protective eyewear.

The seminar will coincide with the annual Pennsylvania Heritage Festival, an Alparon Park tradition since 1992. This is the first year that the stone wall building seminar will be offered at the event.

“Dry-stone building refers to the building of a wall where the only glue is gravity,” according to the Heritage Village and Farm Museum. “It takes years for a stone wall builder to perfect their craft. The result is a beautiful, natural wall that has a structural integrity so sound, it can stand for thousands of years.”

Stone working expert, Kenneth P. Ely will oversee the seminar and help teach attendees about the craft. His skills include construction, restoration and teaching workshops about dry stone wall building. Ely has worked with stone since the 1960s.

“The building of dry-stone walls has been part of human culture since the Neolithic period, roughly 10,000 B.C.E.,” according to the museum. “The craft can be found in cultures all over the world. Zimbabwe, the United Kingdom, Greece, and Machu Pichu in Peru are a few examples of places that built dry-stone walls prior to the modern time period, A.D.”

Dry-stone walls can be found in many communities across Pennsylvania, especially in the countryside and along roadways.

Stone walls were built in the 18th and 19th centuries as boundary markers between farming properties. Countless rocks were moved when the land was cleared for establishing settlements. Early residents decided to utilize the rocks for the boundaries and to keep livestock on their properties. These early stone walls can still be seen throughout northeastern Pennsylvania in the present-day.

“The key to building a stone wall is the quality of the rocks,” according to the museum. “Rocks that are flat and have a straight edge can be connected and built up. The builder must take care to ensure the formation is tight so it maintains sturdiness. The construction of dry-stone walls was simplistic enough to be popular across the world, including northeastern Pennsylvania.”

Anyone interest in attending the seminar can register via email at [email protected].

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