Limestone Houses in Central Kansas

Immediately after the Civil War, the Plains Border in central Kansas offered the westering peasant a set of new challenges. In an almost treeless environment, a suitable building material was a prominent prerequisite for permanent settlement. Its almost universal availability together with its conveniently uniform thickness and initial softness made the Fencepost limestone a suitable substitute for wood. Its dimensions, color and texture impart to the entire cultural landscape an element of uniformity anda unique folk character. Houses and barns, churches and stores, even curbstones and fences display the character of this important building stone. Quarrying and building were accomplished by laymen and their methods, employing uncomplicated tools, resulted in a straightforward vernacular architecture. While several design types appeared, ethnic affinity was expressed in the treatment of appurtenances rather than by any overt distinction of design. The use of stone represents the influence of material availability rather than ethnic experience. Rail service brought lumber into competition with stone and after the 1920s the use of stone was discontinued. The veneration of old things, current in the country, has placed the stone forms remaining on the threshold of a new popularity and appears to assure their survival