History and description of stone corrals and fences at Tallgrass Prairie NPres

Tour Stop 2: Corrals and Fences

For a better view, travel a short distance to the west to look out over the stone fences and wooden corrals. These played a pivotal role in controlling animal flow and grazing patterns.

Stephen Jones came to Chase county at the end of the open range. The law thus stated that a person's land must be fenced. Mr. Jones fully enclosed his 7,000 acres using a readily available resource, limestone. He also built inter-pasture fences for selective breeding and grazing distribution to prevent overgrazing any one particular area.

Over the years the corrals have been updated using metal pipe. What you are seeing is a continuation of time periods and how the ranch was changed to fit the needs of its time.

The little tin roof overhang structure in the northwest corner of the corral is called a horse loafing shed, where horses may go to protect themselves from the harsh winter weather.

Try to imagine cowboys gathering cattle for shipment to market, while listening to their cattle calls and the response of the cattle and their gentle bawling sound.

For your safety and to help preserve the rock walls and buildings, please refrain from climbing on or disturbing the rock fences, buildings, or entering the corrals. Animals are unpredictable and even the most well trained animal will respond to a threat. Please do not feed, pet, or throw objects at the animals.