Fairfax Stone State Park: Explore nearly 400 years of history in West Virginia

Fairfax Stone State Park is located in rural northwest West Virginia, about 9 miles north of Davis at the junction of Tucker, Grant, and Preston counties. Although the park is only four acres, what it lacks in size, it makes up for in incredible history.

History of the Fairfax Stone

The park was named after the Fairfax Stone, a surveyor’s marker and boundary stone. More than 277 years ago, the boundary and marker were used to settle a dispute between the then-English colonies of Maryland and Virginia. The Fairfax Stone is one of the oldest markers in the United States.

The history of Fairfax Stone begins in 1649, about 100 years before the land was surveyed. In that year, English King Charles II issued the Northern Neck Proprietary – also called the Northern Neck land grant, Fairfax Proprietary, or Fairfax Grant. The land grant encompassed all the land between colonial Virginia’s Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers. This was a massive piece of property, upwards of 5,000,000 acres.

George Washington Surveyed the Area

The exact boundary at the headwaters of the north branch of the Potomac River would not be set until 1746. Before this, colonial Virginia frequently had disputes regarding the Fairfax Grant boundary. The 1746 survey conducted by Colonel Peter Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson’s father, and Thomas Lewis led to the placement of the stone. Two years later, a young George Washington and respected frontiersman, David Morgan surveyed the area again. The boundary dispute between Maryland and West Virginia would not be settled until 1910 when the U.S. Supreme Court held that the boundary between Maryland and West Virginia is the south bank of the North Branch Potomac River.

My wife and I visited the park on a cool spring afternoon on our way home after spending the weekend in nearby Blackwater Falls State Park. There is not a whole lot there. A plaque on the Fairfax Stone explains the history, and a grassy area and forest surround a few picnic tables. We spent about 20 minutes there relaxing and taking in the history. Anytime you can stand where George Washington did is always cool in my book.