View Comments
This section of a rock wall is situated on the east boundary line of what was once the Joseph Smith Sr. farm in Manchester, N.Y. Rocks were cleared from fields where crops were planted and used to show where property lines ran. Placed under split-rail fences, the rocks kept a family's animals in and neighbors' animals out. In the image seen here, one can see the intricate way that stones were used to construct the wall, showing that it was more than a rock dump. Remnants of a wall on the western border of the farm can also be seen but are less likely to have been placed by the Smiths because they run through the wood lot (now the Sacred Grove), an area that would not have had to be cleared for farming.