Stone Wall Culture | City Journal
Not all suburbs are equal. In their demographic profile, Connecticut suburbs resemble a sprawled-out Sunbelt exurb; but design-wise, they resemble old cities like Boston, which was laid out before the advent of the automobile. Architecturally, suburbs don t offer much in the way of showpiece train stations and skyscrapers. At their best, though, they present the charms of the vernacular in abundance.
Stone walls are a glory of New England vernacular design. I m speaking of dry-laid (no mortar) walls made of weathered fieldstone. They frame old houses and wind through forested areas of the Connecticut suburbs actually, re-forested areas, former farm properties demarcated by stone walls that have since been absorbed by nature. Necessity prompted their construction, but they enhance the landscape just as much as walls built for aesthetic purposes.