The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1907-10-10
A VISIT 70 FAIRFAX STONE.
Correspondent Of the keySer Tribune
Gives a Description Of Historic
Spot

Gives Description Of Historic
Spot.
On Saturday morning, Sept. 21st, the
writer in company with Jim and viii
ROderick boarded train No. l, at Schell
and at Ills disembarked at Fairfax
station. From here we walked about
one half mile across the hill in a N. w.
direction to the Fairfax Stone. After
eating our lunch and drinking from the
head of the water supply of our Ma
tiOnal Capital, we commenced to take
notes. Now as this is quite a historic
place minute description of the same
may be interesting to many of the
readers Of this paper. We now find
ourselves at an altitude of 1850 feet,
from whence the mighty Potomac rolls
down to the sea, This spring is not
at all head of ravine as might natural
ly be supposed but is on the side of the
hill about 200 yards from the top where
the hill (the watershed of the Allie
ghanies) slopes toward the northwest at
a grade of about three degrees. At
the head of strip of ground slightly
lower than the surrounding land, the
spring flows from under bank about
two feet high. There are two streams
about 10 feet apart and flow together at
a distance of So feet below, and from
there flows northwest gradually circl-
ing towards the north and east. We
have often been told that either of these
| streams would flow through an inch
pipe, when we were there either of
them would have flown through a pipe
the size of a common lead pencil. Be
twixt those two springs and direct
north of the most westerly one star
the Fairfax Stone" There are two
rocks placed side by side which form
| foundation about two feet square
/ These rocks have been roughly dressed
with hammer and placed so as to ex-
tend about eight inches above the sur
face of the ground, upon this is placed
cut stone just two feet square and
eighteen inches deep and COPIED off on
the top to square of thirteen inches.
There has been another stone or shaft
placed upon this but has been destroyed.
All four sides of this stone have cut
on it the letters F. H., and one place is
covered with an inscription but time
has so obliterated it that we could read
nothing but date, April ia" the
fourth figure was either 3, 5, or 8.
These rocks have been brought from
the top of the hill some distance back
as there are no rocks of this kind or of
any size near the spring. From little
distance above the spring the state line
may be seen for miles as there is strip
cleared about one rod wide which was
done few years ago when the line was
re-run. After the Potomac crosses this
line about one half mile from the stone
it is, in a few hundred yards from there,
met by another rivulet from the Mary
land side which is flowing near due
south. They then flow round hill in
an eastern direction until they reach a
point about one and a half or two miles
below Fairfax station, there this rivulet
is met by stream from the Maryland
side and quite near this place one from
the W. Va, side. Here it forms quite
brook and meanders for miles in
north eastern direction Now it will
be seen that maps all give this wrong,
as they all give the stream as running
directly from the stone in N. L. direc-
ton and near straight, thereby making
the stone the corner of Md, whilst that
state has nothing to do with it except
as a starting point to run their western
boundary line Maryland possesses no
land closer than one half mile of the
, Fairfax Stone.
Some historians tell us that George
y Washington explored this country,
located the stone and ran the line from
q here due north, to the Pennsylvania
line" but we think this can hardly \
: for what we consider the best autho
(records) show that this stone was plac4
ed here and the line was run in the year
l745 which the date on the stone would
indicate "by a corps of surveyors in the
employ of Lords Baltimore and Fair
: fax" AT that date Washington was
, only lad in his teens History also
tells US that Washington entered the
employ of Lord Fairfax at the age of
II and did some surveying in the Shen-
andoah Valley in Virginia in that year. "
20. c." in Keyser Tribune.