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
• HELP WANTED/WORK WANTED – November 11, 2022 – Available Waller Positions and Wallers Looking for Jobs and Volunteer Opportunities
• 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.

A Pretty Impressive Wall from the Southern Contingent!

Posted December 2, 2022
Martin Beevers, the Stone Trust Tennessee site champion, writes: We had an impromptu get together of local stone enthusiasts here in Nashville.  I put out an SOS for help building a retaining wall for next year’s workshop season and ten hardy souls answered the call. Well, Tennessee is known as the Volunteer State. It was [...]


Tool Guide: Answers To Your Stone Buster Hammers Questions

Posted December 1, 2022
When it comes to choosing and using stone busters, these versatile, powerful hammers and can be used with great accuracy. Always removing the worry about hitting your hand again with these hammers. Instructor Brian Post shows how the Trow and Holden Stone Buster Hammers can be used to do all kinds of trimming and shaping on some Vermont fieldstone. He finds approximately 80% of the shaping he does when working fieldstone is done with these stone buster hammers. 



Master Class: Tracing

Posted December 1, 2022
Tracing is the practice of placing a stone with its longest axis running parallel to the face of the wall rather than into the wall. It is generally accepted that tracing is a poor practice as placing stones with their longest axis into the wall greatly reduces their potential to become displaced during settlement. It is possible to further qualify this idea. For example narrow traced stones are particularly easily dislodged



December Waller of the Month: Derek Jolie

Posted November 29, 2022
DEREK JOLIE (New Hampshire) — Derek owns and operates D.S. Jolie Landscapes, LLC, a landscape design/build company specializing in natural stone construction and ecological and sustainable landscaping services. Their talented craftsmen are passionate about their work and



Self-organizing made for easy, fun work at the final Women’s Intro of 2022

Posted November 11, 2022
A great group of twelve women participated in the last Women’s 1-day Introduction to Dry Stone Walling Workshop of 2022. You came with a variety of skills and experience in related spheres--carpentry, restoration gardening, landscape architecture. Some of you are self-taught, having built or rebuilt walls on your property, and you're looking for a solid [...]


HELP WANTED – WALLING WORK WANTED: November 11, 2022

Posted November 11, 2022
HELP WANTED – Waller Positions Available , Updated Oct 15, 2022



Tool Guide: Where to Start and Other Questions from Beginner Wallers

Posted November 10, 2022
We are often asked the question from beginner wallers, "What tools should I start with?" and "How do I begin assembling the tools I will need to go forward?" You may be considering what one-day intro or two intro workshop  you would like to sign-up for our upcoming 2023 Workshop season or perhaps working on [...]


Master Class: Random Walling: Part 3

Posted November 9, 2022
The content below was copied with the generous permission of the author Sean Adcock.  This Master Class article originally appeared in the Autumn 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 [...]


November Waller of the Month: Terrapin Landscapes

Posted October 31, 2022
TERRAPIN LANDSCAPES (Maine) — Terrapin Landscapes is a full-service outfit specializing in design, installation, and maintenance of quality hardscapes and softscapes. Over the last five years they have established a presence in the dry stone community with multiple projects that have incorporated dry stone walls and columns, as well as various dry stone features.



Cheek Ends–A significant building challenge to learn!

Posted October 25, 2022
Level 2 Wallers will tell you that mastering the cheek end is a much bigger challenge than most people expect. Your Cheek Rebuild workshop was a first step. Beyond that, you practice, practice, practice. We've heard said that you need to build at least ten vertical wall ends, some in the company of more advanced [...]