Cow High and Pig Tight: The Essential Art of Early American Fencing

Image: Fences in New Brunswick, New Jersey., showing post and rail [left] pale [center] and post and board [right] (“General White's, Brunswick” by Archibald Robertson, 1799, Monmouth County Historical Association - General White's, Brunswick – Works – Landmarks, Landscapes & Seascapes – Collections – MCHA eMuseum)

 

The morning mist clings to weathered split rails as a farmer walks his property line, checking the fence that separates his wheat field from his neighbor's pasture. This daily ritual, repeated across colonial America, embodied a fundamental truth captured in an old farming expression: a good fence must be "cow high and pig tight"—tall enough that cattle cannot leap over and secure enough that even the craftiest pig cannot squeeze through or burrow under.

 

This simple phrase encapsulated both practical wisdom and legal necessity in eighteenth-century America, where the difference between a well-fenced farm and a poorly protected one could mean the difference between prosperity and ruin, between neighborly peace and costly litigation.

 

The Weight of Wooden Boundaries

In the colonial period, fences served purposes far beyond their modern role as mere property markers. They were the backbone of agricultural success, the foundation of community harmony, and often the subject of heated legal disputes. Eric Olsen's comprehensive study "Cow High and Pig Tight: Fences in Eighteenth Century America" reveals how these humble structures shaped the very fabric of early American rural life.

The legal importance of proper fencing cannot be overstated. Colonial fence laws placed the burden of crop protection squarely on the farmer's shoulders. If a neighbor's livestock wandered onto unfenced land and destroyed crops, the property owner had little legal recourse. But if that same farmer had erected a fence that met local standards—one that was truly "cow high and pig tight"—the law would hold the livestock owner responsible for any damages.

This legal framework created a patchwork of wooden barriers across the American landscape, each fence telling a story of available materials, local customs, and individual ingenuity.

 

The Art of Agricultural Architecture

The variety of fencing solutions developed by early American farmers reflected both the diverse environments they inhabited and the material's nature provided. In the dense forests of New England and the Mid-Atlantic, farmers had access to abundant timber. The rolling hills of Pennsylvania offered both wood and stone. The fertile plains of Virginia presented different challenges and opportunities entirely.

 

The Mighty Worm Fence

Perhaps no fence type better exemplifies the resourcefulness of colonial farmers than the worm fence, also known as the Virginia rail fence. This distinctive zigzag structure, built without nails or posts, could be constructed quickly using nothing but split rails and gravity. The interlocking pattern created surprising stability while allowing the fence to flex with changing weather conditions.

The worm fence's serpentine path across the landscape served multiple purposes. Its wide base provided excellent stability, while the zigzag pattern naturally shed snow and rain. Farmers could easily dismantle and relocate sections as needed, making it ideal for the flexible agricultural practices of the era.

 

Stone Walls: Monuments to Persistence

In rocky New England, farmers transformed the burden of stone-filled fields into lasting boundary markers. The process of building stone fences began with clearing fields for cultivation—a backbreaking task that filled countless sledges with rocks of every size. Rather than viewing these stones as waste, industrious farmers saw raw materials for permanent fencing.

 

Stone walls required no maintenance against rot or insect damage, lasting for generations with minimal care. Robert Frost's famous observation about spring fence-mending captured this enduring quality, noting how "something there is that doesn't love a wall"—referring to the frost heaves that would shift stones but never destroy the fundamental structure.

 

Post and Rail: The Aristocrat of Fences

For farmers with more resources and time, the post and rail fence represented the pinnacle of fencing craftsmanship. These structures required careful planning, precise measurements, and considerable skill to construct properly. Posts had to be set at exact intervals, rails carefully fitted, and the entire structure built to withstand decades of weather and livestock pressure.

 

The investment in post and rail fencing often indicated a farmer's prosperity and long-term commitment to a particular piece of land. Unlike the temporary worm fence or the utilitarian brush fence, post and rail construction suggested stability and success.

 

Gardens and Dooryards: Fencing for Civilization

While field fences kept livestock contained and crops protected, a different category of fencing surrounded the domestic sphere of colonial homes. Garden and dooryard fences served multiple purposes: they kept chickens and pigs away from kitchen gardens, created defined spaces around dwellings, and demonstrated the inhabitants' commitment to civilized living.

 

The wattle fence, constructed by weaving flexible branches between upright stakes, provided an economical solution for protecting vegetable gardens. These living barriers could be constructed quickly from readily available materials and repaired easily when damaged.

 

For more permanent and prestigious applications, the paled fence—constructed from split or sawn vertical boards—created crisp boundaries around formal gardens and front yards. The uniform appearance of a well-built paled fence conveyed prosperity and attention to detail, marking the transition from wilderness to civilization.

 

The Economics of Enclosure

The choice of fencing material often reflected local economics as much as available resources. In timber-rich regions, farmers might favor wood fencing despite the ongoing maintenance requirements. In areas where stone was plentiful but labor expensive, families might invest considerable time in wall-building to create permanent boundaries.

 

Brush fences, constructed from cleared undergrowth and fallen branches, represented the most economical solution for cash-poor farmers. While these structures required frequent maintenance and offered limited durability, they could be built entirely from waste materials that would otherwise be burned or discarded.

The labor requirements for different fence types also influenced farmer choices. A single farmer might construct a brush fence in a few days, while a stone wall or post and rail fence might require weeks of concentrated effort or cooperative labor from neighbors.

 

Legacy of the Fence Line

The fencing decisions made by eighteenth-century American farmers continue to shape our landscape today. Ancient stone walls still mark property boundaries in New England forests, their original purpose long forgotten but their physical presence enduring. The straight lines of modern fencing often follow the serpentine paths of old worm fences, preserving settlement patterns established centuries ago.

 

Perhaps most importantly, these early fences established patterns of property ownership and community cooperation that became fundamental to American rural culture. The tradition of neighbors helping to build and maintain boundary fences created bonds that extended far beyond mere property lines.

 

As Robert Frost observed while walking with his neighbor to mend their shared stone wall, fences paradoxically brought people together even as they marked divisions. The spring ritual of fence repair became an opportunity for neighbors to renew relationships, discuss community concerns, and maintain the social fabric that held rural communities together.

 

The old farmer's wisdom embedded in "cow high and pig tight" encompassed more than agricultural technique—it represented a commitment to responsible stewardship, community cooperation, and the practical wisdom that built a nation from the ground up, one fence post at a time.

 

Emigrants: Fence Building./Nemigrants Building A Fence At A Settlement In The American West. Wood Engraving, 1874, By Charles Maurand, After A Sketch By Paul Frenzeny And Jules Tavernier