The Old Stone Walls of Barnstable
- attcorin
- Apr 13
- 1 min read
On Cape Cod we are surrounded by endless stretches of old stone walls that mark property lines, fields, and thoroughfares. Those stones are a legacy from the glaciers that retreated North many thousands of years ago. As the ice melted, stones from small pebbles to massive boulders were left scattered across the land. They were a useful annoyance for the early settlers, who used them to build the foundations of their new houses, and to mark the limits of their land:
Gustavus A. Hinckley Photo of West Barnstable, North of the West Parish Church
It is believed that the busiest period of stone wall building was in the 50 years between 1775 and 1825, although there can be little doubt that some of the walls we see around us were built in the early days of European settlement.
1861 Map of Barnstable Village Showing Property and Field Lines
Larger stones were transported on carts, or on wooden sleds pulled by animals. Smaller stones were picked up, carried and placed by hand. Either way, the stone wall building all around us was a monumental human effort. Whether laid by experts or simply ‘dumped walls,’ they are part of the fabric of the land, and the history of the people who used to live here.
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