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Chargement... Land of the Post Rock: Its Origins, History, and People (édition 1975)par Grace Muilenburg (Auteur)
Information sur l'oeuvreLand of the Post Rock: Its Origins, History, and People par Grace Muilenburg
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In north-central Kansas, where woodlands are sparse and prairies expansive, rows of creamy-buff, brown-striped stone fence posts grace the landscape. These stately posts are shaped from the native rock known as Fencepost limestone, or simply post rock. Now tourist attractions, the posts are also regional trademarks that bespeak the resourcefulness of early Kansas settlers. Land of the Post Rock is a story of north-central Kansas and its people, and their relationship to the post rock. The authors weave together regional geology, geography, and economics with local history and pioneer folklore to describe how post rock shaped the area's development. They have recorded the story of a unique aspect of Mid-American heritage. Post rock played a vital role as the central Kansas upland evolved from a treeless grassland to an area of cultivated farms. Obliged to find a substitute for post timber, early settlers began turning back the sod and splitting posts from the rock layer that for hundreds of centuries had lain dormant. The rock became a central factor in the development of that segment of the plains as dugouts and sod houses gave way to substantial dwellings constructed of stone. This book contains a generous amount of local oral history. The authors traveled the region collecting stories about the early settlers' dependence on post rock to survive on prairie homesteads. Here, too, is ethnic history. Details are provided on the backgrounds, talent, and personalities of the European immigrants who settled the area and used the rock. Those who are curious about the physical nature of post rock and how it was formed will find answers in this book. The authors explain how the rock was quarried, how stone posts were set, and how post rock was prepared for buildings and other structures. The volume is illustrated with numerous black-and-white photographs, maps, and charts, as well as ten full-color photographs of post-rock scenes and structures. It can serve as a guide for interested explorers, because it includes specific information on where post-rock artifacts and buildings my be observed today. It is a major contribution to the preservation of the post-rock landscape and heritage. Aucune description trouvée dans une bibliothèque |
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Google Books — Chargement... GenresClassification décimale de Melvil (CDD)917.81History and Geography Geography and Travel Geography of and travel in North America Western U.S. KansasClassification de la Bibliothèque du CongrèsÉvaluationMoyenne:
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The problem turned out to have been solved in the Cretaceous with the deposition of the Greenhorn Limestone. Near the top of the Greenhorn was a 20-30 cm thick bed of especially good limestone; on most farms in the area it could be easily reached using a horse-drawn scraper to remove overburden, drilled with homemade rock drills, split with feathers and wedges, broken to length with a sledgehammer, and hauled out with a horse team and a “wishbone” sled. Then dig a posthole, lever rock upright, wrap the wire around it, and repeat. Backbreaking work, of course, but it probably broke the monotony of all the other backbreaking work on a 19th century farm. What’s more, this particular limestone actually became harder with age; weathering caused the surface layer to recrystallize and “case-hardened” it.
Authors Grace Muilenburg and Ada Swineford are locals who produced this history of the Land of Post Rock, covering the geology but also rock quarrying technique (including interviews with locals who remembered doing it), regional history (the area was settled mostly by central Europeans – Czechs, Bohemians, Volga Germans – and Scandinavians) and lots and lots of pictures. It was quickly discovered that not only did the Fencepost Limestone make good fenceposts, it also made good ashlar masonry, and thus many of the homes, churches, and businesses in the area were built of the stuff – and are still standing, since it’s resistant to all the weather the Great Plains can throw at it. I’ve been on the outskirts of the post rock country – Dodge City and Hays – but never to the heart; I’ll have to assay a trip. “Home on the Range” was written here.
Good maps, lots of photographs, and well-referenced. Written in 1975, but I imagine rock doesn’t change that much. ( )