MASSIVE Slave-Built Rock Wall and The Most Prosperous Freed Slave | Oak Mountain Dowdell Plantation

Join us as we uncover a hidden piece of history atop Oak Mountain in Harris County, Georgia. This video documents an incredible journey led by Kyle Shaw, who guides Dan, his son Briley, and me through rugged terrains to discover the largest known rock wall in the county, a testament to the enduring spirit and hard work of those who built it, believed to have been constructed by slaves.
Dan Akin shares a moving narrative in "The Mystery Wall On Oak Mountain," revealing a personal connection to the land and its history through his father, Ed Akin's, lifelong fascination with stone masonry and his quest to find this remarkable structure. Ed's passion for rocks and his friendship with locals who had witnessed the wall's existence set the stage for this exploration. Despite the obstacles, the promise made to his father became a mission for Dan to locate the wall, culminating in this expedition on the 32nd anniversary of his father's passing.
This journey is not just a physical trek across mountains but a voyage through time, piecing together the history of the Stanley family and their significant contribution to the area's agricultural heritage. The wall, stretching over two hundred yards along the mountain top, stands as a silent witness to the ingenious use of natural resources and the backbreaking labor of those who constructed it without modern machinery.
The video captures not only the awe-inspiring sight of the wall but also delves into the rich history of Harris County, the Dowdell family, and the legacy of Oliver Stanley, a once-enslaved man who became a significant landowner and a pillar in the community. His story, intertwined with the land and the wall that stands as a monument to his life's work, offers a glimpse into the resilience and determination of those who came before us.
As we explore this historical marvel, we pay homage to the craftsmanship, perseverance, and spirit of all those involved in its creation, reminding us of the deep roots and complex history that shape the landscape of Harris County, Georgia. Join us on this emotional and enlightening journey to the past, as we walk in the footsteps of giants on the summit of Oak Mountain.

[@AdventuresIntoHistory]

Amazing history uncovered here! Tip Jar For Gas: www.paypal.me/rwrightphotography Follow me on my old farm: kzbin.info/door/56vh2L-M0czmoTRLhSMaxg eBay Shop: www.ebay.com/usr/oldbyrdfarm Join The Official Sidestep Adventures Fan Group: facebook.com/groups/561758371276581/?ref=share_group_link My flashlight link: www.olightstore.com/s/UPTJSG Save 10 percent: SAIH10 (not valid on sales items and X9R) Mail: Sidestep Adventures PO BOX 206 Waverly Hall, Georgia 31831

[@LooptyLoop1088]

Re read the slave census. ALL of the slave owners in EVERY State, county, and city, where slavery was practiced were Black! Look in the race column.... They're marked B for Black or M for Mulatto (light skinned Blacks.)

[@AdventuresIntoHistory]

The Mystery Wall On Oak Mountain, by Dan Akin. Anyone who ever knew my father, Ed Akin, knew of his creative abilities in stone-masonry construction. Daddy not only loved working with rock, he loved looking at and studying anything built of rock; old chimneys, fireplaces, walls, foundations, even ancient graves. To the chagrin of my two older brothers, the only thing he enjoyed more than actually working with fieldstones, was going out and looking for them. His constant search for the perfect rock to place at a certain spot or to use for a certain project bordered on obsessiveness. It was a passion that had begun with him as a child, when he watched a stone mason named "Jackson" build buttresses on the front steps of his childhood home in Geneva, Talbot County, GA. Whether it was on his way to work, weekends off, or even a family trip, Daddy was constantly watching the ditches along the dirt roads for any single rock that suited his needs. To say the least, he made sure that our whole family had much experience in the labor of moving piles of rock. And hand-mixing cement (especially my two older brothers). Anyway, long ago, one of his closest friends, Mr. Douglas P. Martin, a lifelong Harris County farmer who lived on Fortune Hole Road near old Ebenezer Baptist Church, told him about a dry-stacked rock wall that existed deep in the rugged terrain of nearby Oak Mountain. Mr. Martin, who was born in 1905 and passed away in 1993, had seen the wall once, while rabbit hunting as a young boy. It had impressed him deeply and he described it as being "about three feet high, three feet wide, and goes around the whole top of one of those mountains back in yonder" pointing towards an area known as Dowdell's Mill. It was abandoned when he saw it. "It was built in slavery days, by old Oliver Stanley and a bunch of his family members. It was a hog farm. They raised hundreds of hogs running loose in that hollow between those mountains, then they’d drive 'em up the mountain into that pen and load ‘em on wagons for market. The Stanley's had all been slaves back in there. Some of them Stanley's lived their whole life back in those mountains," he said. And the only road to it, which was abandoned long ago, crossed the Dowdell’s Mill Creek at the old Baptizing Hole, which was later a popular swimming place known as “The Tater Hole”.

[@AdventuresIntoHistory]

Fording the creek there was the original roadway to the mountain-top Stanley farm. From that point it became a quest for my Daddy to see that rock-walled hog pen. He talked to Roger Copeland, who had lived his whole life nearby and was somehow related to the Stanley's. Roger told him that he saw it as a young man, but there was no road anywhere near it now, and you had to cross the lands of Mr. Louie O. Meadows, Sr., to get to it. He talked to his old friend, J. W. McPhearson, who told him the same thing. "It's up there, but it's about a five mile walk over three mountains." If J. W. said it was hard to get to, you'd better believe it must really be rough. And so, one day Daddy happened upon Louie O. Meadows, Jr., our elementary school principal in Waverly Hall, who told him, "Mr. Ed, I've heard of it all my life. It's somewhere on one of those mountains, I think part of it is on our land, part is on the Stanley land, but I've never seen it. You are welcome to go look for it, and if you find it, let me know where it is, I'd like to see it too". My Daddy was amused that Louie owned land that he had never set foot on. But as we are all inclined to do, the invitation was put off. Daddy's heart ailments worsened until he passed away on February 11, 1992. Then, Mr. Louie's health declined for the worse. All these years since, I have kept the hope alive that one day I would find someone who would know exactly where that Stanley hog pen wall was located, and could point me in the right direction instead of me wandering about the mountains and never finding it. And so it finally happened, somewhat by fate, that I recently crossed paths with a friend, Theresa Baker Shaw, whose family has leased and hunted the area for over forty years. She said, "my son Kyle will take you right to it. You have to go on a side-by-side ATV for a couple miles, then walk almost straight up a mountainside to the top." And so, my friend Robert Wright, my son Briley, and our friend and guide Kyle Shaw and I headed for the hills on February 11, exactly thirty-two years to the day of my Daddy's passing.

[@AdventuresIntoHistory]

After miles of riding along a narrow hunting trail, and what seemed like climbing Mount Everest, we reached our destination. The use of the word "impressive" to describe what we found on the mountain top is an understatement. The immense human perseverance and labor put into the construction of such a man-made wonder is unbelievable. Were it comparable to other old farm-related walls and piles of stone that I have seen over my 58 years throughout Harris and Talbot counties, I would not likely be writing about it. This wall is well over TWO HUNDRED YARDS long, extends across the top of a mountain and down the steep mountainside to a branch of water. In places it is evident that split rails or some other wooden fencing enclosed certain gaps, and at the very top of the mountain it appears likely that the walled area was used to corral the hogs into a loading area. From an agricultural point of view, the use of natural resources to transform a useless piece of mountain property into a prosperous farm was ingenious. But the thought of what methods were used to construct such; no tractors or backhoe or front-end loader. No skidder or dump trucks. Just probably a mule, a pan and possibly a sled. And most especially, human hands. And legs. And backs. Picking, carrying, loading, unloading, placing and stacking rocks of every size and description. Some stacked neatly with planned precision, and some just stacked, as if some weary person had lost interest in aesthetics. Pure hard labor. Back in the early days of the creation of Harris County, this mountain and the land surrounding it was part of two vast plantations, each owned by brothers, James Dowdell and Lewis Jefferson Dowdell, who had settled here from Kentucky in 1827. Lewis built a grist mill and a store on the upper branch of the Mulberry Creek, which became known as Dowdell's Mill. The creek itself became known as Dowdells Mill Creek, a tributary to the Mulberry Creek. Lewis built a fine home on the hill overlooking the store and mill.

[@AdventuresIntoHistory]

On February 4, 1848, Lewis died at that home, from exhaustion, after helping fight a forest fire on his farm. Dowdell’s Mill was in operation from the 1830's but was abandoned and ceased to exist before 1900. Mr. Douglas Martin recalled that the Dowdell store was long abandoned by the time he attended square dances in the vacant building as a teenager. The old Dowdell home burned before 1920. It was later known as the Reynolds place and was where Mrs. Maud King Martin's mother, Mary Lula Reynolds King was born in 1867. Maud was the wife of Mr. Douglas Martin. When James Dowdell's Harris County plantation became self-sustaining, he placed it and all of his enslaved people upon it in the hands of his brother Lewis and trusted overseers and moved to Chambers County, Alabama, where he established another plantation known as "Oak Bowery". James died there at age 77 on December 13, 1855. In his last will and testament which is recorded in the Harris County, GA courthouse James Dowdell left his two-thousand acre “upper plantation” in Harris County, GA to his daughter Rebecca Lillian Dowdell. He also left her twenty-one slaves, including one named Oliver. In June 1855, Rebecca Lillian Dowdell married Augustin Olin Stanley, Sr., an Episcopal Rector and they made their home in Troup County. In keeping with the custom in those times, the surname of her enslaved people was changed from Dowdell to Stanley. In 1860 these enslaved people have increased to 53 in number and are listed on the Harris County slave census as being cared for by an overseer named Butler Williams. After the war and emancipation, Oliver Stanley is listed on Harris County voter lists as being employed on the farm of Seaborn Meadows.

[@AdventuresIntoHistory]

In 1875, Oliver purchased from L. F. Dowdell one hundred acres of mountainous land. By 1883, the tax records of Harris County, GA, list Oliver Stanley as having taxable real and personal property valued at four hundred and fifty dollars, making him one of, if not possibly the wealthiest African-American in the county at the time. In 1891, Oliver Stanley purchased one hundred more adjoining acres from former Dowdell farm overseer, Archibald Dollar, for the amount of five hundred dollars. In 1892, he purchased another adjoining one hundred acres from J. F. Dowdell. This purchase was made by a mortgage on the property through Alex F. Copeland, a wealthy merchant in Hamilton, GA. By 1895, Oliver Stanley had paid off his four hundred dollar loan and he was the mortgage-free owner of three hundred acres of mountain land, and perhaps the largest hog farm in the county at that time. Census records in following years give Oliver Stanley's age inconsistently. Very few former slaves knew their actual date of birth. His birthdate was most likely around 1828-1830. In 1920, he gave his age as 98. In 1924, he wrote his last will and testament, leaving his property to his wife, and upon her death to be divided into tracts between their nine children; Leath Ann Stanley, Phyllis Stanley Mahone, Mary Stanley Hogan, Hannah Stanley Jarrett, Jim Stanley, Tom Stanley, Rufus Stanley, George Stanley and Lucinda Stanley Woolfolk. He desired that his body "be buried in a decent and Christain-like manner in the family burial grounds on Lunie's Hill". Oliver's will was probated in 1924. His wife Martha, whom he had married long before emancipation, died March 10, 1925. Her death certificate lists her age as one hundred years old and her burial as having been at the "Old family residence". The cemetery today is located west of the intersection of Oak Mountain Road and Brown Creek Road. Much of the old Stanley farm is still owned today by descendants of Oliver and Martha Stanley. As a prominent Episcopal clergyman, Rev. Augustin O. Stanley moved about with his wife Rebecca. He died in 1881 in Evanston, Indiana. His wife, Rebecca Lillian Dowdell Stanley died 38 years later, in 1919, in Indianapolis, at age 83. Both are buried in Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio, a long, long way from Oak Mountain and the humble graves of Oliver and Martha Stanley.

[@MrMilwaukee]

Thank you Dan for sharing all the local history. I hope you’re considering writing a book for future generations dedicated to your father of course

[@TheDroShow]

WOW! Oliver Stanley is my 3rd great grandfather!!! I’m so proud & honored this was made as one of his descendants! My late grandmother showed me his photo as a child sitting in a chair & showed me his original will. I did a report on him in 7th grade. This is amazing! Thank you for commemorating my family history!

[@AdventuresIntoHistory]

Wow that’s amazing!!! I’m glad you saw this!!

[@SnFlwrYada]

Hey Cousin!!!!

[@TheDroShow]

@@AdventuresIntoHistory appreciate this so much!

[@TheDroShow]

@@SnFlwrYada hey cousin!

[@timaramaxwell5797]

So cool! He’s my 4x great grand father!!!!

[@kepperMN]

Mr Oliver Stanley was obviously a very smart and Industrious person! Deep Respect for what he accomplished as an Emancipated Slave 👍

[@ronniefuller2334]

Oh my goodness what beautiful history. No one tell it like uncle Dan!

[@redpine8665]

Just imagine, that wall will be there long after we're gone and our kids and grandkids. I'm in awe of it. Just sitting out there unappreciated. Imgine just touching some of those stones that a human hand hasn't touched in 150 years.

[@nikkidodd2305]

Oklahoma​@@redpine8665

[@lillypad9960]

It's not the Roman Colosseum nor the Statue of Liberty, but that wall is testimony to our African American people who worked so hard for anything they had. It's something to be preserved for future generations to respect and enjoy. Blessings from Michigan.

[@annashannon4528]

I think Mr Dan should write a book, he's really good at history

[@lisad476]

At least a podcast please

[@janetrapoza3877]

New Englander here... We learned to build rock walls from the Indians. Walmponogs in my area. They divided properties but also pasture lands and crops which were rotated... Wall building is almost an artform around here.. we have some pretty impressive decorative rockwalls up here.

[@LindaZeno]

Born and raised in N.H. !

[@floridaseminole]

Many of the people called blacks were the indigenous Americans, hence the knowledge of wall building.

[@Tomatohater64]

Always love to hear about U.S. history, both during and after the Civil War.

[@shellydehart8217]

Dan took the words right out of my thinking….. it’s amazing. So wonderful to se a part of history. I think Sondra’s comment says it pretty well n I agree with her profoundly. I’m really blown away at the steepness of the hill n them gathering the stones had to take many men. I just wonder how long it took them to accomplish this. I was thinking quite a few years. As me being a lover of the words sitting up on hill looking out to the horizon as to be pure joy. Maybe Mr. Stanley felt the same way. Thank you Robert in showing a part of history that we all should respect. And thanks to Kyle for bringing you n Dan to Oak Mountain. Fantastic video. ♥️♥️♥️♥️👍👍🦚🌟

[@SondraD7676]

Mr. Stanley certainly was industrious and accomplished much after emancipation, built a better life. Steep, isolated, but a beautiful place to live. The wall is incredible. I can't imagine climbing and maneuvering those hillsides carrying rock - the quantity and gathering it too. 🤯 Oak Mountain, the obvious abundance of oak trees I see the leaves. The hog pen makes perfect sense, hogs eat acorns. The round chimney is something else too. Native Americans built round chimneys. Curious. Great tour, Robert! It is something I'd never see otherwise. Dan, wonderful as always, and hello to Briley! Enjoyed!! 👍👍❣️❣️

[@JohnMarciaShackelford]

Hiking those steep mountains is what helped him die at a ripe old age.

[@timaramaxwell5797]

Oliver Stanley is my 4x great grand father! Thank you for this ❤️

[@AdventuresIntoHistory]

Wow! Amazing! Im so glad you saw it!

[@kgray1024]

That’s beautiful. FBA’s stand up 🇺🇸

[@decembergem4598]

Thank you all for this adventure into history, this was an amazing video. The blood sweat and tears that went into building that wall,😥

[@nadineveitch5837]

The work that went into that wall is incredible. Would have been amazing to see the place back then. Hope one day someone finds the cemetery as well!

[@redpine8665]

I was thinking the same thing. We're seeing it after time and shifting ground and some errosion has gone on. If we could have seen it soon after it was built, it probably looked neat as a pin.

[@truthreigns3465]

Those walls are all over the place up in northern VA closer towards WV

[@kimberleyannedemong5621]

I'm so thankful for this video the wall is something I never would have seen if not for you. Everyone should see this wall. It is a testament to the enslaved people who built it. There has to be hundreds of if not thousands of hours of labor in this wall. Many of the enslaved people were very talented craftsmen master carpenters stone masons chef's cooks etc. And this history is not routinely taught in schools which is a disgrace. It is good to know that an enslaved family was able to make a living to prosper a little during reconstruction - another time period that gives America a black eye. I wish this could be an UNESCO site. This wall is part of history that belongs to the African American culture. Thank you for letting me be on my soap box. I'm a history lover & believe as much as possible history needs to be preserved.

[@sharonlegnon7411]

WOW!!!!! That rock wall. Amazing. I was raised in New England and yes it was very common to have rock walls. Still do.

[@helenwenzel7603]

Wow what a beautiful wall to show Robert and Dan! I would give almost anything to see it in person. I know the video doesn't donit justice like you said. One can only imagine the labor and time that went into it! Thank you all so much for the great videos! I love watching all of them. I am from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. But my heart lies all over the US. I am 2nd generation from Poland. I love our land.

[@shelliewerner5624]

This is very amazing...I'm flabbergasted on this wall...what a feat to build this...thanks for showing us...

[@mtgcardzandreview2756]

The effort needed to build that wall is incredible.

[@redpine8665]

Especially on that steep slope. I would be exhausted carrying just one stone up that hill.

[@QuakerLady]

I'm originally from Connecticut, and I've seen many similar walls. Every one an engineering feat. It was nice to hear the appreciation of finding and walking this remarkable wall. Thank you Robert, Dan, and company.

[@user-xn7hp4rh3d]

Hi Robert and Dan. As a fellow Georgia native, I enjoy watching your videos. No one but you show’s Georgia’s history like you and Dan. I love hearing Dan talk he has such a smooth southern accent. I’m glad you’re feeling better. Get your Covid shot’s!

[@deniseoftedahl8937]

A monument to perseverance and determination. Incredible. I'm so glad you got to document it. Thank you Dan for the history lesson, and a shout out to your gracious tour guides!

[@alrise1776]

Originally from New England. Connecticut. Stone walls like this are everywhere in New England.

[@rayiskool444]

i think they are called carains

[@mercedithcompala8148]

Amazing ,Congratulations to Mr.Oliver Stanley is 👍

[@mygrammieis]

Awesome Historical Dan and guys💯❤️🧐🤦🏼‍♀️

[@cynthiacarter514]

Thanks to all who helped me see this tremendous history.

[@randysinger2673]

Thank you for not letting History Fade away

[@paulhoffman6371]

I have family in upper New England and know how the border walls were built with stone left behind from glacier retreat. The wall in your video is a great piece of above-ground archeology and you'll probably need to listen to the myth and folklore tales to come close to how and why it was built. The stream reminded me of the woods of New England as well.

[@sherrie545]

I enjoy hearing stories about history generations back but love being able to see evidence to prove it to be true! A lot of blood, sweat and tears shed from men who built this amazing stacked rock wall that went on and on. Great video footage, thanks for carrying us alongside with you guys! .

[@susanbellefeuille]

The number of working hours to accomplish the building of that wall. Amazing.

[@M3-N-Ace]

Mr Dan asking about his mic gave me a good laugh. I would be same way😊

[@jennifermckinney8891]

"Owned" is very hard on the heart to hear.

[@josettelusk]

This northerner thinks Mr. Dan has the most lilting accent. I could listen to his descriptions all day long. Love your channel.

[@cumberlandquiltchic1]

Wow! That’s like Hadrian's wall! It just keeps going! I grew up on farm with stone walls. So big (width and height)I saw them on the satellite view on Mapquest when I was looking up the place since it’s too far to go visit. However, you’re right about how there weren’t many in the south. So glad you share all of this with us! Thank you.

[@cumberlandquiltchic1]

Forgot to say, here in western NC you can find rock walls. Also the old chimneys. I love finding them. If you ever come back to franklin, I’d like to show you an eatery o on top of the hill behind my house. I guess it’s a mountain realy. Lots of houses there now. But it’s up too and has slate markers. Some have primitive writing (like crude spelling and say an R is written backwards). It was a slave cemetery is what I was told. I know the guy that found it and nobody knew it was there. I guess the Boy Scouts cleaned it up long ago and figured out it was slaves. Anyway, not many people know where it is, or go there . Id be happy to show you. I find it intersting how so many cemeteries were put up on a hill with a beautiful view. Wont be long before “decoration day” here in the smokies. Many families gather on Memorial Day weeekend and the NPS takes them across lake fontana (towns down there that were flooded) to their old family cemeteries in the park. Lots of picnicking, singing, clean up of cemetery and placing flowers. Y’all would enjoy those days as families can tell stories of who’s who and history of the area and their life.

[@kathylebarron9957]

It's not only the extreme effort to do that huge wall but also the distance that had to go to gather the rocks. Incredible doesn't do it justice

[@shelliewerner5624]

Yes...Mr.Oliver was quite a smart, hardworking man for sure...you gotta wonder if he helped make that wall??? Amazing...I shared this on Facebook...

[@user-mx9fi8nb6j]

Thank you for recording this history.

[@gayeyount7948]

I do so enjoy your adventures into history. Mr Dan should write all the thungs he knows down. He is a walking history vook

[@scottnyc6572]

I could picture herds and herds of sheep traversing those hills back in the day.Textile mills were booming and the demand for clothing textiles.Great video!!

[@melaniew4354]

Hello, I'd like to reply and enlighten you, there were no sheep being raised in Georgia, it's too hot for them, people even today have trouble trying to raise sheep here. These pens were for hogs, which were raised to be eaten. As for the mills, those were cotton mills. I mean no disrespect, but wanted to provide you with some corrections so you wouldn't come away with any misperceptions.

[@dharmon8798]

Thank you for sharing

[@101egals]

Dan, don't fret. We have to hear Robert breath heavily, too. But that can be called the Great Wall of Harris County.

[@DeadbyDaylightDUO]

I LOVE Mr. Dan! He is so incredibly knowledgeable! I could listen to him talk history all day! Fantastic video and amazing wall! ❤ Keep on keeping our history alive!

[@chars1184]

Amazing! Thanks for editing and posting this, Robert. Hope you are feeling better!!! My hubby is a Stanley and the family comes from Alabama by way of Georgia, so I got on Ancestry to check a possible connection out. Not the same Stanley’s as in the video, but I did locate Oliver and his family (9 kids) on the 1880 census. If anyone who sees this wants more info, let me know.

[@chars1184]

I messaged someone on Ancestry who has Oliver Stanley on their tree and gave them the channel info and video title. They were super happy to get the info.

[@earllutz2663]

Thank you for tour of what used to be the Stanley Family Farm with the "Rock Wall" The Wall reminds me of the "Little House" books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. She wrote 1 book about her husband called "Farmer Boy" Laura was born in 1867 && her husband was 10 years older. So Laura's husband (Almanzo Wilder) must have been born in 1857. Almanzo whom Laura called [Manly] speaks about going berry picking & having to take down a neighbor's Wall & putting it back up on the way home to get to his father's woods. As you said more than once, what a lot of work. By the way Almanzo or Manly's Family lined in Malone, NY so these walls must have been all over the country. Thank you again for the video tour.

[@phillybob255]

Can only imagine how many people and how long it took to build

[@geraldfischer6049]

All I can say is”WOW!”

[@glennyork6800]

Just simply amazing It took years to gather & stack all that rock. OMG, if those rocks could talk, what stories would we hear. God Bless them ALL who labored long hrs to accomplish this tremendous endeavor & left their mark on the Ga soil & the story of the making of America.

[@stephenkorab6456]

Building the wall was a monumental effort. Equally amazing would be the effort in sourcing the materials! They must have spent even more time and effort in finding and digging up all those rocks to make the wall!

[@alanatolstad4824]

I'm stumped as to where that much rock actually came from? My knowledge of geography in that part of the country is obviously sadly lacking.

[@beverlyparrott3890]

Thank you Robert for this video into history. I can't believe the slave's built this wall on such treacherous ground so long.❤😊Wonderful to see. ❤😊😮😢

[@sandysue202]

Wow...all those millions of rocks had to be gathered first and then stacked so that they wouldn't give way and let the hogs out. That's amazing! I can hear the echoes of the men and boys singing as they worked. The Georgia heat would have been stifling. I wonder how long it took to build, how many men worked on it, and how many hogs were enclosed within it. That is really something!! Amazing video, and thanks to all of you guys who took us on this once in a lifetime adventure!!❤

[@elizabethjaneda2456]

Love these videos you post, so much history. Thank you for sharing this fantastic bit of life during slavery and after freedom.👍

[@Carolbearce]

Wow, this wall is amazing. The work it took to build and collect all those rocks must have taken quite awhile. A chance in a life time Robert. So glad you and Dan got to go and see it.

[@karenwright8556]

Wonderful history,I enjoyed it very much,Thank you Robert,Dan,Briley and Cale. That was quite a trek up that hill and down. I can tell you this it reminded me so much of the rock walls here I thought ,looks like a piece of Ky. Then Dan writes the Dowdells came from KY,huh!!! Yes ,we have many farms and many miles of mortarless rock walls here,Clark,Fayette and Bourbon counties. There are small family cemetaries scattered across the countyside with rock wall enclosures. There is one rebulit I think in the 1960s ,at Boonesboro State Park where they also rebuilt the fort. So I am very familiar with those moss covered rock walls. So very interesting to see such connections...and to know Dan's father loved rock walls,bless his heart.❤😊 Bless y'all,too.

[@brendahogue5487]

Love your videos and enjoy watching. May the lord bless and protect you Dan and Robert bringing out the past history

[@artcflowers]

We have slave walls in TN. There are also rock wall pens in some remote areas. I've heard the sled Dan refers to, called a stone boat. This is quite the legacy. What beautiful land. Thanks for the adventure.

[@KB-zp2hn]

Thanks so much for sharing such an amazing rock wall! I live in Massachusetts, so rock walls are common, but I have NEVER seen anything like this wall. In Mass, the walls (some of which are 200-300 years old) are made from field stones, dug up to allow for farming. The same stones were used for house foundations. My house was built 1903-05 and has a foundation built from stones found while digging the basement. Those who own land with rock walls are often contacted by people (developers?) wanting to buy their rock walls. I'm happy to see Oak Mountain wall is still there. 🙂

[@sandysue202]

How cool! Here in Sw Missouri, there are remnants of some of those rock walls. Both east and north of my little town, some of the old rock walls can be seen. Our biggest thing is the rock corner posts that are everywhere, even here in town there is one. Because we live in the old Ozark mountain area, rocks are plentiful and farmers would use hog or chicken wire and form it into a tube that was about 5 feet tall and 3 or 4 feet in diameter. It was then filled with rocks that were dug up out of the fields when plowed. It was used as a fence corner post, and it made an excellent place to pile the rocks and keep them out of the fields.

[@ethanb498]

I grew up next to several rock walls built by slaves in missouri. My dad always said the walls kept the sticks and rocks out of the fields during a flood.

[@sheilam4964]

With the random lines of rock wall here and there inside the outer long walls I suspect there may have been smaller pens inside it with possibly split fencing creating gates. If it was, there may have been hundreds of pigs "running in them thar hills". Thx for doing this, filming it and sharing it with us.

[@TraceyM.]

Dang it, I Wish I could have seen it in it's Glory back when the original owner lived there! I bet it was Magnificent..

[@redpine8665]

The wall would have looked better, but the surroundings wouldn't have. It's a pristine, gorgeous forest now. It would have been clear cut of trees and a muddy, smelly hog farm back in the day.

[@TraceyM.]

@@redpine8665 I know But I'm interested in what the Plantation looked like and how the rest of the property looked like back in the day

[@maryleescott9028]

I agree with others that it should be declared a historical place -- either state or federal.

[@Lorriann63]

That's an amazing wall! And I wonder how long it took to build it? Thank you Robert and Dan and Kyle. I love seeing these places and hearing the stories. You really are preserving history and brining it to attention for other generations.

[@maryr7800]

I'm just in awe of that amazing rock fence and the work that went into building it. We have dry-stacked stone fences here in central Kentucky thought to have been built by slaves for many, many years. We now know that they were built by the Irish, probably indentured, no doubt. I've also seen stone fences in northern Kentucky that were built by the farmers themselves as they cleared the land, or built to enclose livestock like the Harris County fence. Those fences are crudely built, narrow fences, nothing like the beautiful fence built by Mr. Stanley and his family, Thank you, Robert, Mr. Dan, Briley and Kyle for allowing us to visit this wonderful site, and an extra thanks to Dan for the historical information.

[@jillgebauer1292]

Hey Dan, despite the mic on, you weren't huffing and puffing much! No way could I have made it except for strong desire to see it!! Well done and your daddy's smiling on you!

[@cclyon]

I just relocated from Colorado to Southern Georgia and I'm absolutely giddy about the history here. 😊

[@debrafricano1486]

What an amazing piece of history! Thank you for taking us along!

[@debbieroland2807]

This is one of your best videos. Very interesting

[@nancylitton390]

Wow!! It's held-up very well for the age of it!!! Thank you for sharing your younger legs and your knowledge. TAKE CARE.

[@DanielLehan]

The Historical society is the only one I am a member of.I look forward to your NEW HISTORY stories that you discover and post.Thanks for the tour!

[@gigicostlow4414]

Wow, just wow! That wall is amazing. I can't even imagine what they went through building this wall. Hopefully some of the Stanley descendants that have never seen it will see your video. Thanks y'all for taking us along to see this historical site.

[@Figgatella]

Thank you for this piece of history story time! It needs to be historically marked and remembered for future generations to come.😢

[@andrewowens9382]

Another intresting and fascinating historical information of early American African people 😊Dan is always informative 👍 👏 👌 always amazed with chimney stacks ,looking at the area now it's hard to imagine it 😳 👏 very good Robert and Dan and the rest of the team 👍 👏 Andrew south wales uk 👌 👍 👏 😀 🇬🇧 and a big thank you to Carl 😊

[@trudychartrand3585]

Dan and Robert yous did another very interesting story. The rock wall wow. A ot of hours and hard work out into it. So interesting. Thank you.

[@wandapease-gi8yo]

Fascinating history and historian. Thank Sidestep Adventures for recording this!

[@richforrest6983]

Amazing adventures of history you all continue to show us !!

[@dianngrubbs4018]

I can't imagine the time and skill it took to build this wall. Amazing!

[@BrianPhillips-le3gl]

Yes!! Wow!! The amount of labor that had to have gone into building that stone wall. Unimaginable. Truly industrious and amazing.

[@sammiceli7645]

I love hand built stone walls in the woods, on reservations, in the forest. I live in N. E. U. S. A. Massachusetts. Miles and miles of stone walls from colonial days. I love em all, but especially the ones with lichen and moss on them. Nice video, gentlemen.

[@lorij323]

This is just an incredible video. It's so hard to imagine the time and work put into constructing it. And to think that it is still standing there. I enjoyed the story behind it. And to hear about Dan's connection with it. Well done to all of you! One of my favorite videos. Thank you.

[@bettecannavino4047]

Thank you for sharing this beautiful landmark!

[@pamcannam9721]

Wow! Awesome video! Thank you!

[@chelseyroberts2349]

Dan I would have been breathing a lot harder going up that mountain lol! Wow thank you for sharing these amazing places with us all and telling the history and stories! It’s so important to remember these places and what the people who lived then went through. The wall is just amazing. Thanks again!

[@phillybob255]

WOW

[@marilyngaeta1362]

Wow. I think this is one of the best and informative videos I have ever watched. I enjoy all the videos you post but this one was really fascinating. I love listening to Mr. Dan and appreciate all of the history he gives us. Thank you so very much for all your hard work.

[@vickykelley4703]

Amazing story.....thanks for your team in documenting this incredible story.

[@MargieT6223]

Wow thanks, Dan incredible! God Bless Love and Light!

[@robertburns3014]

The quality of that rock wall is testified to by the fact that a lot of it still exists!

[@lindatanner8726]

Awesome!

[@WINDYJEAN]

We had old rock walls on our farm in upstate New York.

[@frankscarborough1428]

Beautiful wall. Thanks Dan and Robert

[@billl1127]

Absolutely amazing. The actual length and width of that wall built on that terrain is miracle number one. Miracle number two is where did they source all those rocks? Surely, they traveled quite far from the build to find them all!

[@celleduffel1533]

Thank you, Kyle Shaw!!! The wall was amazing and just think of the many many slaves that worked to put it together. If I wore a hat my hat would be off to them. Totally amazing!!! Ty to Mr Dan.

[@dharmon8798]

Wow, he had a lot of land

[@user-dc8sg5xu1n]

That’s incredible, the time, and labor involved to build it, wow.

[@monicavanopdurp9853]

These walls were also built in order to separate pastures, as in the N.E. Thanks for sharing this. It is amazing.

[@marthavojtko6268]

Oh my gosh! So much rock! So much LABOR to build it!!! I wonder how long it took and how many hands were involved. Amazing! Than you Robert and Mr. Dan.

[@marthavojtko6268]

Just finding all the rocks would haven been a huge undertaking!

[@forgerelli1]

As a New Englander, literally surrounded by stone walls, the first thing I noticed about the Stanley wall is the stones are much smaller. Up here those size stones would be mostly on top or filling up the middle. Another thing to consider is the wall was "taller" in the past. Over the years they will not only sink a little, but leaves and debris can pile up a foot or two on both sides.

[@chrandersson8332]

Amazing!!!

[@susandonnell5019]

Love these videos and the care and respect you have for the historical cemeteries!!

[@robertgrice9962]

Amazing is the word😀