190 
P A RK AND CEMETERY 
1 
The Concrete Fence for Cemet t r it 
Address at Barre Conzention of A. A. C. S. by John F. Pe- 
terson, 
As implied from the word, fences were 
originally not intended for the purpose of 
confining something in an enclosure, but 
rather to defend or protect an enclosure 
from intrusion by human enemies or wild 
beasts, and this still appears to be the view 
taken by the English Law. 
Writing in 1898 or before Arthur Ver- 
non in his book on "Fences” says “Build- 
ing in concrete was much advocated a few 
years ago, but has rapidly disappeared 
from public favor. The result in appear- 
ance for fence walls is eminently unsatis- 
factory and it is only under special cir- 
cumstances and in special locations that 
there is a large saving over cost of brick- 
work. The only conditions that would jus- 
tify the employment of concrete would be 
the possession of suitable materials on the 
spot, and a large quantity of similar work 
to be done, in which the same casting or 
forms could be employed. Lhider these 
favorable circumstances, the cost of con- 
crete fence walling has been found to be 
about half that of brick.” 
I make this quotation because I think it 
reflects the general opinion of concrete 
fences up to the present time, and it also 
brings out the important point, if one is 
contemplating construction of any kind, 
and that is possession of materials and uni- 
form design, so that the same forms can 
be used repeatedly. Though not in line 
v/ith the subject of this paper, I cannot 
help but reflect how aptly Timothy Mc- 
Carthy applied these laws when he con- 
structed his famous Boulder wall. 
Each kind of fence has its individual 
characteristics and appropriateness adapt- 
ing it to some special locality, and it will 
be found that in the choice, exact propor- 
tion and nature ofr'special fences, consid- 
erable judgment and care will be necessary 
in order to secure the best and most eco- 
nomical results. After the design is de- 
cided upon, the main object in dhe erection 
of all walling, should be to secure maxi- 
mum stability consistent with the least ex- 
penditure of material, and provide against 
climatic effects of heat, cold and humidity. 
Heat invariably causes movement and frost 
and moisture are the active agents in the 
disintegration of all outside structures. 
The ordinary laws of concrete construction 
apply here. Materials must be selected 
with care — clean water, clean sand, clean 
stone, good cement, all thoroughly mixed 
to the proper consistency, well rammed in 
place into forms that are rigid in their 
position. No concrete should be poured 
when the temperature is below 36 degrees 
Fahrenheit, or liable to be within forty- 
ei,ght hours. 
The conventional design of concrete 
fences 'consists mainly of posts with panels 
between, and often solid panels are re- 
Asst. Supt. Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Cambridc 
placed with open steel fence anchored to 
the posts. 
Plans and preparations for building the 
concrete fence at Mt. Auburn Cemetery 
were made during the winter of 1915-16. 
The wooden fence which the present 
FIG. V: POrUING'A SLAB FORM; 
BUCKET RETURNING TO MIXER. 
concrete one has displaced, was held to- 
gether from year to year, only anticipating 
its displacing, when a proper design and 
the question of whether or no a concrete 
fence could be made that would look fit- 
ting and proper. The design here was 
made by Supt. James C. Scorgie, the trus- 
tees calling in (as consulting engineer) 
Prof. Lewis J. Johnson pi Harvard Uni- 
versity who passed on the necessary 
amount of reinforcement. 
Due to conditions existing at the start- 
ing point, we experienced some trouble in 
getting forms firmly in position. How- 
ever, as work progressed, practically all the, 
outside bracing was eliminated and forms 
were bolted together with V 2 " bolts. 
The sequence of the work follows : 
First foundations and retaining walls 
FIG. IV; DUMPING CONCRETE 
FOR POST FORMS. 
Mass. 
were built holding reinforcement for the 
posts. Then about six posts were cast in 
position. After removing post forms, the 
panel forms and reinforcement were set in 
place and panels poured. 
For the foundations and retaining walls, 
a 1-3-6 mixture was made, a 1-2-4 mix- 
ture being made for the posts and slabs. 
Throughout care was taken not to get too 
wet a mixture in order to avoid settlement 
of stones. The result was a dense concrete,, 
embedding the steel so that none was visi- 
ble when forms were removed. The marks 
of the slab forms were cleverly concealed 
in the panel design as shown in the pic- 
tures. 
Figure 1. was the starting point of the 
fence, and where we encountered our 
greatest difficulty, due to newness of the 
work and the fact that the outside build- 
ing interfered with proper bracing of the 
forms ; also in the first few panels cast, a 
derrick was used for hoisting the concrete, 
which was a slow and unsatisfactory 
method. At this point also, there was a 
difference in grade of about 3 feet between 
the inside and outside of the fence, so this 
required a fair sized retaining wall. 
Figure H. gives an idea as to the condi- 
tion of the unfinished grade as we left it in 
proceeding with the concrete work. Here, 
as in all the corners, the three posts and 
two panels shown on the right of the pic- 
ture, were all cast at one time and were 
rigidly tied together by the reinforcement. 
Concrete fences previously built in the 
vicinity of Boston, separated at corners 
such as this one, after their first winter, so 
special care was taken here to prevent a 
similar occurrence. 
Figure III. shows method of holding 
panel forms in place and also the whole of 
the reinforcement in the slab. There are 
12 bolts. 18” long running through the 
six pieces of 4" x 4" spruce which are hori- 
zontal, and at the' extreme outside of the 
forms on either side, they reach over about 
8" onto the adjacent jfdsts and prevent 
movement in any direction. 
Figure IV. Here the men are shown 
just dumping a bucket of concrete which is 
then shovelled into the post forms. This 
also illustrates the method of getting the 
concrete from the mixer to the forms. .At 
either end of the wire cable, about 200' 
long, is a telegraph pole standing 28' out 
of ground and buried about seven feet, - 
being properly stayed. At either pole 
which happens to be the most convenient, . j 
is set up a double drum hoist, operated by 'i 
an eight horse power gas engine, borrowed ! 
from our power sprayer. This plant was .■] 
found to be very efficient under the condi- -J 
tions, as we were decidedly limited in space 
over the greater part of the line of the I 
fence, due to close proximity of graves. 
