Split Rails

A split rail fence requires no metal hardware at all. The whole thing is dependent on gravity to keep it together so it is remarkable how long they last. Although I do have to observe that many of the split rail fences you see are modern reconstructions. The first patent for barbed wire was issued in 1867, so the most common fence I saw in my childhood was barbed wire. We used to call it "bobbed wire" probably because we didn't know that the pokey parts were "barbs." By the way, split rail fences are definitely more an eastern phenomena than they are in the West.