Stone Boat

[BnRidge]

I just look at stone fences and piles of stones like that and find the amount of work just staggering.

Near Stevens Point Wi is "standing rock county park". What could that mean? On the way there, all fence rows as far as you could see were lined with rocks mostly 3-6ft dia. A mystery how 1000s were moved off the fields. The 50s was a time of transition here, so a lot of the equipment used was repurposed horsedrawn. Spent many hrs using a stone boat. Never thought much of it, since that was what always needed to be done.

 

[ponytug]

Near Stevens Point Wi is "standing rock county park". What could that mean? On the way there, all fence rows as far as you could see were lined with rocks mostly 3-6ft dia. A mystery how 1000s were moved off the fields. The 50s was a time of transition here, so a lot of the equipment used was repurposed horsedrawn. Spent many hrs using a stone boat. Never thought much of it, since that was what always needed to be done.

Small world, I know the park and the area. Lots of glacial moraines and deposits thereabouts. My assumption had always been that the boulders had been rolled into place, and I would have put money on it being a winter job when the ground was frozen. There were reports of ice "roads" in the old days specifically to help sleds and stone boats move heavy loads easily, but I would bet that the state historical society might actually know how it was done.

All the best,

Peter

 

[oosik]

Two thing strike me as I look at all the stone fencing. My big meadows were also cleared by the homesteader to the North. Even with my Kubota M6040 & grapple - this would have been an ENORMOUS project.

I just wonder how the homesteaders sons felt about being assigned this task. I'm sure they would have grumbled some but they did it and it still shows.

 

[ponytug]

Two thing strike me as I look at all the stone fencing. My big meadows were also cleared by the homesteader to the North. Even with my Kubota M6040 & grapple - this would have been an ENORMOUS project.

I just wonder how the homesteaders sons felt about being assigned this task. I'm sure they would have grumbled some but they did it and it still shows.

"Son, it needs doing." End of story for a farm kid, at least in my experience...

I think of it as one of those "build the pyramids" jobs, but I think that you start in one corner, and rock, by rock you make your way through the field. I'm sure that the rock picking happened many times over many years as rain, and freezing / thawing cycles brought more rocks up. I worked on a hay farm in Michigan that was still rock picking its fields after over a hundred years of cultivation. (And rock picking)

Still, I think the rock piles are amazing testaments to the labor.

All the best,

Peter

 

[gemutlich]

"Son, it needs doing." End of story for a farm kid, at least in my experience...

I think of it as one of those "build the pyramids" jobs, but I think that you start in one corner, and rock, by rock you make your way through the field. I'm sure that the rock picking happened many times over many years as rain, and freezing / thawing cycles brought more rocks up. I worked on a hay farm in Michigan that was still rock picking its fields after over a hundred years of cultivation. (And rock picking)

Still, I think the rock piles are amazing testaments to the labor.

All the best,

Peter

 

[gemutlich]

And sometimes easy to forget, centuries of old growth trees both standing live, dead, and fallen rotten along with their stumps & roots had to be removed before they could start pulling stones & rocks, man I can’t even imagine

Picked up the white oak planks for the bed and the two pieces for the side rails from the sawmill in Bethel CT a couple days ago, laid it all up high in my friends barn weighted down to dry through the dry air of Winter

This time next year that old stone boat should be back in fighting shape. Looking forward to leaning it back up against the wall and admiring it as I walk past…

Hand-fit a new handle to my small snow and nealey peavey today, need to pull the spike and drill out the handle a little more so it can bury up to the base of that square part of the spike

For scale, that tailgate is on my 09 Colorado, narrower than a full-size truck

Project for another day…

 

[gemutlich]

And the white oak, sorry I didn’t grab pics before we layed it up…

 

[ponytug]

@gemutlich what is the ballast on top of the oak?

All the best,

Peter

 

[gemutlich]

Those are lead blocks, former counterweights, I forget their exact weight though I believe they’re right around 80lbs each

At least the first one is, they sure seemed to feel heavier by the time the last one was set!