Photo By Eric Pilgrim | Historic masonry expert John Speweik examines the walls of the Fort Knox Main Post...... read more read more
FORT KNOX, Ky. — Parts of the old stone wall that surrounds Fort Knox Post Cemetery have slowly been crumbling over the years due to age and weather.
As a result, Fort Knox Garrison officials recently reached out to officials at Arlington National Cemetery to find out how best to preserve the wall. The Arlington officials suggested a leading expert in historical masonry restoration.
“This all started when we took over management of the cemetery in 2023, and we started noticing little cracks here and there – but they were very minor at the time,” said Niki Mills, manager of Fort Knox Cultural Resources. “But over the fall of 2025 going into the winter, we had one section in the lower section of the cemetery develop a very large crack right down the top and the middle.
“And on the inside and outside of the wall in the middle, it had two large holes in it. The rock was just coming apart.”
The urgency of the damage made it clear to them that something needed to be done sooner rather than later, according to Mills.
“Using the funding that we get from the Office of Army Cemeteries – which also manages Arlington – we were able to get a contract for [an expert] to come down and take a look.”
That expert, John Speweik, came to Fort Knox June 23-24 to assess the problem areas of the wall. While here, he also inspected Main Post Chapel – Fort Knox’s oldest building, built in 1898.
“We knew he had done work for Arlington and came highly recommended,” said Mills.
When Speweik concluded his visit, he laid out samples from the cemetery wall and chapel and talked with Mills and others about his findings.
“He said, ‘I can tell you exactly why that’s happening,’” said Mills. “It wasn’t anything that we thought. We thought the wall itself was crumbling through poor construction. He was able to point out where we’ve got some drainage issues that’s causing the damage.”
On the second day of inspections, Speweik and members of the Fort Knox Environmental Division walked around the outside and inside of the Main Post Chapel to get a better understanding of damage to some of the bricks. Speweik used a monitoring device to gauge water saturation in them.
At areas where he suspected damage to be the worst, the meter chirped and the numbers quickly rose. The facing of those damaged bricks had come off and the saturation levels in the porous material were high.
During the walk, Speweik explained the science behind how bricks remain strong year after year and what threatens their strength.
“Buildings speak to you,” he explained to them. “You just have to learn to listen to them.”
All members of the team admitted afterward they learned a lot from the experience. Mills said the assessment is just the beginning of the process.
“This is really just phase one,” said Mills. “All the information he’s collected and the samples will be analyzed, and he’ll provide us a report on recommendations on priorities and how best to address each problem.”
Fort Knox is fortunate, she said, in that quite possibly the stone used to make the rock cemetery wall and the materials used to make the brick chapel came from a quarry that sits on the installation. Because historical accuracy is critical, said Mills, owning the actual quarry where the masonry was harvested is a huge win.
During the second phase, Mills said Fort Knox will address each issue and seek funding for the repairs. Cemetery funding will come from Office of Army Cemeteries. Repairs of the chapel will come from a separate source.
“I’m very excited that Speweik will provide a comprehensive plan,” said Mills, “which we can turn into action.”
| Date Taken: | 06.26.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 06.26.2026 09:23 |
| Story ID: | 568652 |
| Location: | FORT KNOX, KENTUCKY, US |
| Web Views: | 16 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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