Wilson Lake Area

Our site on Lake Wilson

Panoramic View of the Dam and Lake Wilson

Stone Fence Post

Today we landed at another Corps Park in the Wilson Lake Area. One of the fascinating things about this area are the miles and miles of stone fenceposts. The early settlers had problems finding wood on the treeless plains so they started quarrying rock to use for posts. North Central Kansas is known as the Land of the Post Rock.

According to the Corps internet site "The stone used for posts and homestead buildings was quarried from a rock layer found near the surface. This rock is a chalky limestone of rather uniform thickness, 8-9 inches. When freshly quarried, it is soft enough to be sawed, notched, drilled, or shaped with hand tools. After prolonged exposure to air, it hardens and becomes weather resistant."

There are also loads of interesting stone buildings from the same quarries in the area. We saw stone churches, homes, barns, a really different round jail, and bridges that are still standing.

Fence Posts at the Parking Area Above The Dam

We had to take pictures of the fence posts here at the dam even though we saw miles and miles of them along the roadways.  There was just no good place to stop and get a picture!