The Rail Splitters of Brown County: Alan and Porter Richards
No Thumbnail Available
Can’t use the file because of accessibility barriers? Contact us with the title of the item, permanent link, and specifics of your accommodation need.
Date
2020-03-16
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Jon Kay for Traditional Arts Indiana
Permanent Link
Abstract
Generations of Alan Richards’ family has lived in Brown County, where log houses and split-rail fences have remained part of the landscape. Once his grandchildren were old enough, he recruited them to help him split rails at the local Antique Tractor and Gas Engine Show in Nashville. This video was shot of Alan and his grandson Porter splitting rails at an Arts in the Parks event at TC Steele State Historic Site. From straight grain red and black oak trees, Alan starts to split the log with an ax; once the log cracks, Porter uses a set of wooden wedges and splitting maul to cleanly split the length of the log. They repeat this until the log is split into quarters. They can spend all day transforming a pile of logs into a length of fence.
Description
Keywords
Brown County, Indiana, Rail splitting, T.C. Steele State Historic Site, Alan Richards, Porter Richards, Jon Kay, Traditional Arts Indiana, Craft, Folklife
Citation
Journal
DOI
Link(s) to data and video for this item
https://youtu.be/eyXPQjoQrEo
Click on the PURL link below in the "Link(s) to data and video for this item" section to play this video.
Click on the PURL link below in the "Link(s) to data and video for this item" section to play this video.
Type
Video