GENESEO — A volunteer effort to restore the wall that runs for one mile along 20A in Geneseo has been organized to promote historical awareness of the Livingston County area. Dr. Kurt Cylke, a Professor of sociology at SUNY Geneseo and the leader of the “Save the Wall” project is encouraging individuals and organizations throughout the county to contribute to the restoration in any way possible, due to the exstensive processes required to complete the job.
“At least two, if not three years,” Dr. Cylke commented cooly with unwavering energy when asked about the duration of this project. “The first phase is clearing and assesment.”
Built in the early 1800’s, the wall is located on the Wadsworth family residence and is connected to another project entitled “Restoration of the Homestead”. The wall is made up of over 760,217 individual local stones and requires three types of specific construction to properly fortify. A series of stone and mortar beneath drystacked stones provides an incredibly simplistic example of the craftsmanship behind the design of the wall.
Two master maisons, a father and son team of John White and John White Jr., are taking care of the work requiring more professional tact. The leaders of the project, however qualified, are still in need of many volunteers.
So far, Dr. Cylke said they’ve had 66 individuals spread out over 14 weekends, amounting to alittle over 586 hours. The volunteer effort is held on Saturdays from 9 a.m. until noon, and will commence when the weather gets warmer.
The project is off to a good start, but requires the back strength of the community to finish what is started.