Welcome to The Stone Trust

Established in southern Vermont in 2010, The Stone Trust’s mission is to preserve and advance the art and craft of dry stone walling. We do this through an expanding program of educational events and outreach projects. The Stone Trust is a multifaceted resource engaged in preserving the natural use of plentiful stone in simple, gratifying ways.

The Stone Trust Center is the only facility in North America that provides year round educational and DSWA certification opportunities for all levels and abilities. The Stone Trust is a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization. It relies on contributions from people like you to keep its programs going. Help us continue to preserve and advance the art and craft of Dry Stone Walling!

Quick Links

• Looking for hands-on training to build dry stone walls? Click Upcoming Workshops
• Want to become a Certified Dry Stone Waller? Click Upcoming Certifications
• Looking for a contractor to build a wall? Click Certified Wallers
• Want to read up on the basics of dry stone walling? Click How to Build Walls
• Looking for amazing photos of dry stone walls and features? Click Photo Gallery
• Are you an Architect, Landscape Architect, Engineer or Designer looking for specifications for dry stone walls? Click Design Information

Support The Stone Trust

Your support makes our work possible. Please consider helping us preserve and advance the craft of dry stone walling by making a donation today. Thank you.

Retaining Walls – In the eyes of a past workshop participant

Posted July 1, 2019
Judy Rand DSWA-GB Certified Level II Waller and Instructor sent in two photos and the following paragraph.  Taking a workshop really does change the way you see the world around you. "This failing cement retaining wall is on my walking route to town.    Each time I walk by I think about how it was not [...]


Waller of the month: Daniel Peterson

Posted July 1, 2019
DANIEL PETERSON (Minnesota) focuses on developing landscapes and designs aimed at long-term sustainability and functionality based on ecologic and permaculture systems design.



Master Class: Random Walling: Part 1

Posted June 27, 2019
The content below was copied with the generous permission of the author Sean Adcock.  This Master Class article originally appeared in the Winter 2009 issue of Stonechat, produced by the North Wales Branch of the Dry Stone Walling Association of Great Brittan.  This entire issue of Stonechat, and many more, are available at http://www.dswales.org.uk/Stonechat.html   Thank [...]


A variety of learning at the Historic Wall Rebuild! (June 14-16, 2019)

Posted June 17, 2019
Six participants had a great time learning all the in-depth details of working with fieldstone in Springfield VT this past weekend.



Waller of the month: Mark Jurus

Posted June 4, 2019
MARK JURUS (Maryland) is dedicated to the craft of dry laid stone construction as is evident in his Blog, YouTube channel and training site for workshops and certification. Quality not quantity – one project at a time.



A map of fascinating Dry Stone Structures around Dummerston

Posted June 3, 2019
Did you know that in addition to the walls and features at The Stone Trust Center there are some wonderful dry stone structures in and around Dummerston which are publicly accessible and built by local wallers?



Great workshop on building Retaining Walls that last! (June 2, 2019)

Posted June 3, 2019
During the Retaining Wall workshop, participants learned the fundamental differences between retaining walls and free standing walls.



Learning how to Split and Shape Stone! (June 2, 2019)

Posted June 3, 2019
At the Stone Shaping Workshop the focus was on the finer details of splitting boulders and field stone using feathers and wedges as well as trying out a variety of hammers and chisels.



Awesome Introductory Workshop! (June 1, 2019)

Posted June 3, 2019
At a sold out workshop, 16 participants learned the basics of dry stone walling in a beautiful setting at Broadview Farm.



Retaining Wall Challenges

Posted June 1, 2019
We were recently emailed about a retaining wall that was starting to fail just 8 years after construction.  This wall is a good example of the problems that retaining walls can have whether dry stone or constructed with other materials.