Our team has told me for months to write about our exclusive use of Locust Posts for our Split Rail fences. They are so proud of the fact that we provide our customers with this high quality durable product, that they sometimes forget that the words “locust posts” don’t compute to some of us simple folks (ok, maybe that is just me). So, I finally listened to them, and did a little bit of research trying to figure out why they are so jazzed about Locust Posts.
Poking around the internet, one of the first documents I came across was a research paper from Oregon State College Forester Professors (Poles and Fence Posts for Oregon Farms) from 1947. Basically they conducted research in efforts to understand the lowest cost, best quality product for farmers to use for their fencing materials.
In their research they found that Locust was one of the most durable woods as far as standing up to the elements. Locust was concluded to be the best fence-post wood used in Oregon. It out lasted all of the other materials in the 20 year study.
Looking a little deeper, I found articles about how early Appalachian settlers chose locust as their go to fence posts because of its strength and unsurpassed resistance to decay. It could be dug into the soil and resisted rotting for decades.
Live Science website had a fascinating article about Historic Jamestown being built on the back of the locust tree, touting it as “the strongest timber in North America.”
As I wound my way around the internet, and read about the history of our country, there was no doubt that the locust tree has been and still is the go to tree for durability and extreme resistance to rotting.
Capital Fence uses locust posts for all of our split rail fences, and in our 25 years of business, we have yet to hear a peep about the quality of these posts. Our customers are super satisfied with the low maintenance of the split rail fences we install and a big part of that is owed to the locust posts.
Here I will say it, one time and one time only…guys, you were right Locusts Posts are something to get excited about!
