Fairfax Stone Historical Monument State Park is a
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
state park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...
commemorating the Fairfax Stone, a
surveyor's marker and
boundary stone
A boundary marker, border marker, boundary stone, or border stone is a robust physical marker that identifies the start of a land boundary or the change in a boundary, especially a change in direction of a boundary. There are several other t ...
at the source of the
North Branch of the Potomac River. The original stone was placed on October 23, 1746 to settle a boundary dispute between
Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron (22 October 16939 December 1781), was a Scottish peer. He was the son of Thomas Fairfax, 5th Lord Fairfax of Cameron, and Catherine Colepeper, daughter of Thomas Colepeper, 2nd Baron Colepeper.
The ...
and the
English Privy Council
The Privy Council of England, also known as His (or Her) Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council (), was a body of advisers to the sovereign of the Kingdom of England. Its members were often senior members of the House of Lords and the House of ...
concerning the
Northern Neck
The Northern Neck is the northernmost of three peninsulas (traditionally called "necks" in Virginia) on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay in the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia (along with the Middle Peninsula and the Virginia Peninsula ...
of
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
. It determined the proprietorship and boundaries of a large tract of mostly unsurveyed land in the English colonies of
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
and
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
.
Park
![Fairfax Stone 2020g](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Fairfax_Stone_2020g.jpg)
Fairfax Stone Historical Monument, part of a four-acre West Virginia state park, is six miles north of Thomas, West Virginia. The site is sparsely developed, lacking any buildings or restroom facilities.
History
![Fairfax Stone 2020a](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/Fairfax_Stone_2020a.jpg)
The exact boundaries of the "
Northern Neck Land Grant" (later called the "Fairfax Grant") had been undetermined since it was first contrived in 1649 by the then-exiled King
Charles II.
John Savage and his survey party had located the site of the source of the
North Branch of the Potomac River (the northern boundary of the tract) in 1736, but had made no attempt to establish the western boundaries.
[Wayland, John (1925), ""Special Note", In: ''The Fairfax Line: Thomas Lewis's Journal of 1746''; Footnotes and index by John Wayland, Newmarket, Virginia: The Henkel Press (1925 publication), pp. 86-88.] A 1746 survey by Colonel
Peter Jefferson
Peter Jefferson (February 29, 1708 – August 17, 1757) was a planter, cartographer and politician in colonial Virginia best known for being the father of the third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson. The "Fry-Jefferson Map", creat ...
(
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
's father) and
Thomas Lewis resulted in both the placement of the Fairfax Stone as well as the establishment of a line of demarcation known as the "
Fairfax Line
The Fairfax Line was a surveyor's line run in 1746 to establish the limits of the " Northern Neck land grant" (also known as the "Fairfax Grant") in colonial Virginia.
The land grant, first contrived in 1649, encompassed all lands bounded by the ...
", extending from the Stone to the south-east and ending at the source of the
Rappahannock River
The Rappahannock River is a river in eastern Virginia, in the United States, approximately in length.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 It traverses the entir ...
, a distance of .
In 1748,
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
, along with frontiersman and noted surveyor
David Morgan of Virginia, had surveyed the area again. Their job was to establish the northernmost boundary of Lord Fairfax's land and estate, on the present day borders of Maryland and West Virginia. They would be the ones to place the Fairfax Stone where it is today for a consummation of their hard work.
The North Branch of the Potomac River initially heads west from its source at the Fairfax Stone before curving north and then generally flowing east toward
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the ...
. For this reason, the Stone is only a county corner of
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
counties rather than part of the state's border with
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, an issue that was only resolved when the
Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
ruled against Maryland in 1910 in ''
Maryland v. West Virginia'', determining that Maryland would only go westward up the Potomac far enough to meet a point where a line north from the Fairfax Stone would cross that branch of the Potomac. Until the ruling, the boundary of Maryland was indeterminate. Three
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
counties—
Grant
Grant or Grants may refer to:
Places
*Grant County (disambiguation)
Australia
* Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia
United Kingdom
*Castle Grant
United States
* Grant, Alabama
*Grant, Inyo County, C ...
,
Preston and
Tucker
Tucker may refer to:
Places United States
* Tucker, Arkansas
* Tucker, Georgia
* Tucker, Mississippi
* Tucker, Missouri
* Tucker, Utah, ghost town
* Tucker County, West Virginia
Outer space
* Tucker (crater), a small lunar impact crater in the s ...
— share the boundary marked by the Fairfax Stone (West Virginia having seceded from
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
).
Fate of the original stone
![FairfaxStone1881](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/FairfaxStone1881.jpg)
The original Fairfax Stone, in accordance with common surveying practices of the era, was most likely simply a natural, unmarked rock selected from among the outcroppings in the area. Legal boundary disputes between
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
and
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
caused the latter to relocate the stone in 1833 after the site had been lost to memory.
[Wayland (1925), ''Op. cit.'', pg 88.] The stone was still intact in 1859 when one Lieutenant Melcher found it again and reran the "Fairfax Line" on behalf of the two states. The Stone was gone by 1909, however, having been carried away by vandals.
There have been six Fairfax Stones, each one replacing the last owing to weathering or vandalism. The current stone is a six-ton rock with a flat face, on which is inlaid a historical plaque detailing the stone's significance. Next to it is the 1910 stone. The present six-ton Fairfax Stone was dedicated on October 5, 1957.
[Conley, Phil and Boyd B. Stutler (1966), ''West Virginia, Yesterday and Today'', 4th Edition, ]Charleston, West Virginia
Charleston is the capital and List of cities in West Virginia, most populous city of West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Elk River (West Virginia), Elk and Kanawha River, Kanawha rivers, the city had a population of 48,864 at the 20 ...
: Education Foundation, Inc., pg 24.
Plaque legend
See also
*
List of West Virginia state parks
There are 37 state parks in the U.S. state of West Virginia . The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) Parks and Recreation Section is the governing body for all 37 state parks and directly operates all but one of them. In addi ...
References
External links
*
History of the Fairfax Linefrom surveyhistory.org
from the Maryland State Archives
"US SCt Deakins Line Stone 33, 1910, Maryland - West Virginia"from waymarking.com
The Fairfax Stone and West Virginia v. Marylandfrom The Traveling 219 project.
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Fairfax Stone
Geography of Maryland
Geography of West Virginia
Pre-statehood history of Maryland
Colony of Virginia
History of West Virginia
Landmarks in West Virginia
State parks of West Virginia
Protected areas of Grant County, West Virginia
Protected areas of Preston County, West Virginia
Protected areas of Tucker County, West Virginia
Protected areas established in 1957
Potomac River
National Register of Historic Places in Grant County, West Virginia
Monuments and memorials on the National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia
National Register of Historic Places in Preston County, West Virginia
Historic surveying landmarks in the United States
National Register of Historic Places in Tucker County, West Virginia
1957 establishments in West Virginia
IUCN Category III