The 13th National Dry Stone Walling Competition
The 13th National Dry Stone Walling Competition is set for Saturday, September 28th, 2019 from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM at Lower Howard’s Creek Nature Preserve in Clark County, Kentucky. Winners and awards will be announced at 5:30.
The Dry Stone Conservancy’s Walling Competition is the only event of its kind in the United States and attracts many dry stone enthusiasts and professionals from around the country who compete in novice, amateur and professional classes. Competitors are given eight hours to take down and rebuild a four foot stone fence using no mortar and minimal tools.
Competitors are judged on the efficiency with which they use the stone at hand and accuracy in matching the historic pattern of stonework. They are penalized for excess use of the hammer and neatness counts.
The Walling Competition is part of the Conservancy’s mission to preserve historic drystone structures, advance the drystone masonry craft, and to create a center for training and expertise in the craft.
The Conservancy was founded in 1996 at a time when historic rock fences in the Bluegrass Region were disappearing at an alarming rate and there was a critical shortage of skilled drystone masons compounded by a scarcity of technical information, construction specifications and engineering data. This trend continues today, even as we work to preserve and promote the craft.
Masons of all skill levels are encouraged to compete.