Built by slaves?

In 1990, Karl Raitz' book on rock fences, Rock Fences of the Bluegrass, was instrumental in debunking the myth that these fences were built by slaves before the Civil War.

The myth of the fences' construction, like many myths, was partly true. His investigation traced the real origins of the fences to the work of Irish stonemasons who immigrated into the Bluegrass in the early to mid-19th century. These masons passed the craft along to slaves who became master artisans themselves and further passed the craft on to other black artisans, giving rise to the popular labeling of the rock fences as "slave walls."