Stokes County's Rock House gets a fence that may add years to its life

The old stone house, missing its roof and one of its walls, has been reinforced with concrete and cable but will eventually fall.

DANBURY (By Lisa O'Donnell, Winston-Salem Journal) - Members of the Stokes County Historical Society hope that a new 7-foot-high fence surrounding one of the county's historic homes will add years to its life.

The Rock House, as it is known in Stokes County, has survived more than 200 years of storms, fires and neglect. Its most recent nemesis was a group of vandals who picked away at the distinctive stacked rocks that form the home's walls, and sprayed graffiti on some of the steps.

Col. John Martin's homestead in the foothills of the Sauratown Mountains already is in a precarious state. Indeed, it looks more like a ruin than a home. The roof, as well as one of the walls, is gone. The inside is completely gutted.