Founding Fathers

I've been reading Bill Bryson's book At Home, in which he describes the enormous difficulties of obtaining basic building supplies in North America. Washington actually imported both mortar and building stone from England! Well, this foundation was laid more than a century later, but by the look of it, Howard Elgee still had trouble getting decent materials. The stone is certainly local, and entirely uncut. The "mortar" is more like plaster or roughcast. It can fill in gaps but it has little adherence and no strength. Most of it came away when I hit it with the hose. The concrete will fill in the gaps.