There are no doubt many differences between our Rochester and the other American Rochesters, like the ones in Iowa, Kentucky, and Missouri, to name a few. One difference that comes to mind is the iconic New England stone wall.
In Rochester, we are fortunate to have an abundance of them. Driving around town they can be spotted on New Bedford, Vaughan Hill, Mendell, and Rounseville Roads, as well as many others. These are stone walls that separate homes from the street, divide fields, and create boundaries. Some walls show their age, while others are of newer construction, and still others are mostly the scattered remnants of past walls. The oft repeated reason for the stone walls found throughout New England is that farmers had to find something to do with the plentiful rocks that appeared as they carved fields out of their land. Probably Rochester’s most planned and extensive stone walls are at Eastover Farm on Mary’s Pond Road.
The Leonard family began its ownership of the lands at Eastover in 1812 with the purchase of a single share of the Rochester forge by three Leonard brothers. Between then and 1848, when George Leonard died, he had added property, buying the surrounding land from previous owners – Handy, Haskell, Basset, Hammond, and King. Upon their father’s death, Charles and Theodore Leonard, already successful businessmen, inherited the property. Theodore took care of the Rochester business interests and lived on the south side of Mary’s Pond Road. Charles was established as the New York connection for the family’s businesses, which included whale oil trade, oil refining, and candle making. Also, through his connection with his father-in-law, he participated in several commercial ventures and was a part owner of some whaleships. In 1853, Charles and Elizabeth, his wife, began the transformation of Eastover from a rural enclave to a gentleman’s estate.
As part of this transformation, Charles commissioned long stretches of stone walls to be built. Their purpose was to outline and break up the land. He hired a master mason, Isaiah Smith of New Bedford, who along with six local workmen, among them J.S. Ryder, Abram Parlow, Rufus Savery, Elisha Nye, and Alphas Bishup, constructed the two miles of wall. At a height of five feet and a thickness of two feet, the wall took over 1,000 days to complete. L.C. Humphrey, in his memoirs, wrote that the boulders used came from the farm itself. They were spilt, and every block carefully squared, and the entire wall was faced. No mortar was used in the building of the wall, which cost $60,000.
Stone walls in Massachusetts are protected by law. Specifically, General Law Part IV, Title I, Ch. 266, Sec. 105 speaks to the unauthorized removal of stone walls. In short, anyone who willfully or without right pulls down or removes any portion of a stone wall will be fined. Like many historic sites, stone walls are an endangered species. While many street-facing walls are protected by being on town-owned land, not every new homeowner is aware of this. Some towns have bylaws to protect their walls. In Rochester the town relies on an owner’s respect for history. Unfortunately, as he wrote in his poem, “Mending Wall,” by Robert Frost: “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,” so we must all do our part to protect them.
By Connie Eshbach