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| A piece of the original fencing that lined the front yard of our home. |
Mixed into the landscaping around our home and the home of our next
door neighbor, Marcelle Doggett, are pieces of the fencing that once lined the
front yards of our properties back in the early 1900’s when Mr. Burl was a
boy. His grandfather Jacob Kincaid built
Marcelle’s house and his father, Burl Sr., built ours. The fencing is made of
wrought iron and the posts are about three feet tall, with a fleur de lis type
symbol adorning the top. They look very
ornamental; however, they served a very practical purpose.
From the journals:
Iron fences – some plain, some
very decorative – as well as fences made of wire, or wood, and sometimes a
combination of iron and wood, were common in our Bath County towns early in the
20th century. It perhaps has
not occurred to all of us why so many fences of different types existed or even
why there were fences.
Fences in town were not there
just for beautification of one’s property, although some were very ornate.
As late as the early thirties,
there were ‘cattle drives’ that passed through our county towns. Those ‘drives’ could result in property
damage to residents’ homes. Often, cattle drives were a means of getting cattle
to market. The cattle were driven from one
town or place to another town to be sold.
Hogs were also marketed in much
the same way as cattle, but it amazes folks now to learn that turkeys were also
driven to market. Imagine driving
turkeys from Bath County to Maysville!
Sometimes hundreds of turkeys were numbered in a ‘drive.’
It has been told that the turkeys
would balk and go for the trees as soon as dusk fell.
I don’t know about any of
you, but I’m glad the only turkey driving I do is when I bring one home from
the grocery store! - Ginger
