Fencepost limestone, Post Rock limestone, or Stone Post is a stone bed in the Great Plains notable for its historic use as fencing and construction material in north-central Kansas resulting in unique cultural expression. The source of this stone is the topmost layer of the Greenhorn Limestone formation. It is a regional marker bed as well as a valued construction material of the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Kansas. This stone was very suitable for early construction in treeless settlements and it adds a notable rust orange tint to the region's many historic stone buildings. But the most famous use is seen in the countless miles of stone posts lining country roads and highways. This status gives rise to such regional appellations as Stone Post Country, Post Rock Scenic Byway, and The Post Rock Capital of Kansas. This rustic quality finds Fencepost limestone still used in Kansas landscaping today.
Limestone endpost with leaner, an icon of Kansas
The sign for the Kansas Geological Survey is carved from a slab of Fencepost limestone as a monument to the stone's history.
Such Stonepost signs welcome travelers to Post Rock Country communities.
Photographer Robert Benecke seated upon an outcrop of the Fencepost limestone. (1873)
The Greenhorn Limestone or Greenhorn Formation is a geologic formation in the Great Plains Region of the United States, dating to the Cenomanian and Turonian ages of the Late Cretaceous period. The formation gives its name to the Greenhorn cycle of the Western Interior Seaway.
The Jetmore Chalk Member of the Greenhorn Formation in Kansas.
The iconic stone posts of Kansas were cut from a layer in the Greenhorn.
Large marine predators of the late Cretaceous; Pliosauroidea and Xiphactinus. Also, huge oyster-encrusted clams.