The Big Stone Gap post. [volume] (Big Stone Gap, Wise County, Va.) 1892-1928, 1914-01-21
Washington's
Survey.

some of the lines reputed To
have been run by George Wash
ington in his days of chain and
compass work have found them
good.
About 1861, according to ira
dition, George Washington,
then 10 years old, ran out for
Lord Thomas Fairfax the line
between what was then to be
Augusta and Frederick coun-
ties, Virginia, this being only "a
part of great deal of survey
ing which he is said to have
been engaged upon ut that time.
These two counties were sepa
rated from what was then Or
ange county, and the grant to
Lord Fairfax was supposed to
extend westward to the Pacific
ocean. Subsequently h @
large tracts were further subdi-
vided, so that the Fair fax
line" as it is generally known,
runs now between Rockingham
and Shenandoah counties, with
the original Augusta and Fred
crick counties to the south and
north respectively.
In the organic act for the
formation of the two counties,
or parishes as they were then
called, it was required that the
line should be u straight one
from the head spring of Hedg-
man river, one of the sources
of the Rappahannock, to the
head spring Of the Potomac.
Since it was required that
the line should be staight it
was first necessary to get the
approximate course by building
large bonfires on the interven
ing high points. Then start
ing from the top of the ALassa-
nutten mountains, the line was
run straight away over inter
vening mountains and rivers
toward the northwest
The Fairfax S tone.
Away off across part of
what is now West Virginia
there is a large rock known to-
day as the Fairfax Stone. 1t is
the monument which marks
the southwest corner of Carrot
county. Md, the southeast cor
ner of Preston county, w. Va,
and prominent points in the
boundaries in two other West
Virginia counties. y line from
Orange court house, coinciding
with the Shenandoah and Rock
ingham county line, passes
though h 3 Fairfax Stone,
which gives the name to n near.
by station, Fairfax, on the
Western Maryland railroad. 1t
has been assumed that, in run
ming this line, a high peak
northwest of Orange court
house was the starting point,
and that from here it was pos.
sible To see a distant peak in
the North mountain range over
the top of the intervening Mas
Sanutten mountain.
Washington, of course, used
simple compass, and his line
could not be expected to check
absolutely with what obtained
by the government surveyo
who have retraced his survey,
using high-power transists
and all the refined and accurate
methods which modern instru-
ments allow. Nevertheless, the
line was run so careful in the
first place that but little varia-
ton has boon found in it. Even
without instruments it is pos
sible TO distinguish the course
of the line with surprising dis
tinctness. From the top of
Middle Mountain in the Massa
nutten range, the Shenandoah
Rockingham, or Fairfax, line
can be readily followed b Y
means of the boundary fences
dating from earliest days, and
by the blocks OF timber, alter
ternately cleared away or left
standing, which come up from
either county and stop at the
line, like squares in u checker
board. Then if one turns to
the southeast the same denmark
atoms are plain across the val
lay 0f the anIith fnrE of fha