Conserving the Historic Stone Walls of New England

Abstract

Policies for conserving and interpreting historic sites in New England are well established. This is not the case for the region's most salient historic feature: the extensive and nearly ubiquitous latticework of drystone walls dating mainly from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. For these iconic structures, there is only a hodgepodge of extant laws, ordinances, zoning regulations, and management guides for public properties at the local, state, and federal levels. Regulations for private property are very limited. This article recommends a stepwise approach to the conservation and interpretation of New England's stone walls that considers their historic, archaeologic, ecologic, aesthetic, and geologic values while remaining respectful of the presence of Indigenous stonework.