The Chilmark Walls, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts

The Chilmark Walls, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts

Stone Pillars and Gate on Old South Road, Chilmark

Martha’s Vineyard lies off the southern coast of Cape Cod, which extends in an arc like a crooked finger projecting out in to the Atlantic Ocean. The current form of the island was created by the last ice age, when glaciers deposited thick layers of stone scraped and transported from various geologic formations in New England. The rest of the island seems to be made up primarily of sand.

Old Chilmark Wall

I am developing a garden around a newly renovated home in an oak forest in the vicinity of Chilmark. Chilmark, on the southwest side of the island is known for its stone walls. Mile upon mile of these walls are inherent to the vernacular of the place, and efforts are being made to encourage their restoration.

Restored walls dividing fields

Nobody knows who built many of the walls, or why. Most likely they were a means of using the vast quantity of stone accumulated from clearing fields for agriculture while demarking the boundary lines of land claims. Massive boulders were often split in to smaller pieces, often by boring holes in a row, and then driving dowels into them to create a crack. We used this technique to cut old granite curbs to fit and use for steps around the house.

A Wall in the wonderful Polly Hill Arboretum

Old Granite Curb made in to a step in my project

Construction methods vary, but the most common wall is a single thickness of stone, sometimes called ‘Lace Walls’ because the stone is stacked rather loosely with numerous gaps that you can see through. Some people theorize that the open gaps allowed strong winds to pass through the walls during heavy storms so that the walls wouldn't collapse. More likely it made the building of the walls faster and easier. Oxen were used to move the largest of the stones, and it is said that fishermen were sometimes employed when they weren’t at sea as a labor force.

Restored wall on Old South Road in Chilmark

A passageway for dogs and small animals in a wall on Meeting House Road

Reclining on a boulder we placed at my project

I worked with a crew, with the mechanical advantage of an excavator and forklift rather than oxen for placing many of the field stones, boulders and granite curbs on the site. I will write about that project later, but I wanted to show the vernacular of the island that so heavily influenced the design of the garden project.

Building new walls in my Martha's Vineyard project

The garden 4 years later. I've returned to refurbish it from its forlorn condition

The garden after a hard winter, 4 years later

There are a number of skilled stone masons on the island today, including the artist Lew French (www.lewfrenchstone.com), whose artistry takes the work to an entirely different level. Martha’s Vineyard is a truly inspiring place to visit to see extraordinary stone work.

Contempory Wall in West Tisbury by Lew French

Though the island is forested with beautifully shaped oaks, these forests are not ancient. The island used to be open and wind swept, so the walls may have acted as wind breaks as well. Today they are largely an iconic symbol of the island’s character and act as a frame for the many beautiful vistas along the roads threading the island. Driveways and gates often have stone pillars flanking them to identify the entrance to properties. Whether they are overgrown or fully restored, their solidity and enduring beauty makes me want to pull over when driving around the island every hundred feet or so to capture yet another lovely view with my camera. Here are some of those images.