Post Rock Limestone Cutting and Breaking Demonstration

This unique demonstration will be held on Saturday September 19, 2026 in conjunction with the Liebenthal Kansas Fall Festival at 3pm on the festival grounds surrounding the historic St. Joseph Catholic Church.  Free to attend! 

The demonstration and presenter of this activity will be Neil Unrein from Gorham, KS.  Summer vacations as a child first exposed Neil to post rock limestone on his grandparent's farm 3 miles west of Pfeifer, KS.  As a child he was influenced by his grandfather's stone fence posts, limestone chicken troughs and the stone buildings on the family farm.  Neil chose to return to Ellis County in 1996 with wife Susan.  In 1996 and 1997 Neil began a limestone apprentice under Pete Felten and has been active in all aspects of post rock limestone for 30 years.  Neil also is a five-year board member on the Kansas Post Rock Limestone Coalition.

Learn about the properties of limestone and how the 8-to-12 inch thick layers of stone just beneath the prairie soil were exposed, and then cut out to create the fence posts made of stone that are common throughout much central Kansas. Neil will explain and demonstrate the various tools used. Discover how settlers transitioned from basic hand-drilling and sledgehammers to using specialized stone-drills, engine-powered rigs, and mechanical splitting devices. Watch the precise placement of metal shims (feathers and wedges) into hand-drilled holes, followed by rhythmic, methodical hammering to cleanly split massive blocks of stone to exact dimensions.

For a complete schedule of events for the Liebenthal Kansas Fall Festival, copy and paste this website below and scroll down to see all the activities planned.  https://rushcounty.org/liebenthal_fest/index.html

For updates – search for: Liebenthal-Fall-Fest facebook page.    

For more information, questions, or to become a sponsor, contact the committee:

Email: Liebenthalfallfest@gmail.com

Text: 785-806-8721